Melanie's Lullaby
by Draco's-Loyal-Longing
Summary: COMPLETE! Sydney's daughter Melanie was kidnapped 2 years ago. Now the case is brought up again, and they find some disturbing details.
1. Hear usHear us

Melanie's Lullaby Ch 1 'Hear Us...hear Us' Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, nothing belongs to me...except Melanie and maybe some other characters, but I don't know yet.  
  
Sydney sat on her bed, tears streaming down her face as she stared at the picture she was holding in her shaky hands. Her daughter Melanie, who was 4 at the time, was sitting on a park bench in between her parents, eating an ice cream cone. It was the last picture of Melanie before she had been kidnapped. Sydney remembered staying up all night and day searching for Melanie, but had reluctantly given up after a year. Dixon, Jack, even Melanie's father Vaughn had told her it was useless. So Sydney had quit the CIA, this time for good and all she ever did was lay around in Melanie's room, staring at pictures of the whole family together, watch home movies, or simply cry until there weren't any tears left.  
But no one objected to Sydney's resignation, which Sydney had to give them. She couldn't stand being around people who had given up so easily on her daughter and who had even tried convincing her to do the same. Well they did, Sydney thought angrily. She started to hum the lullaby she would sing to Melanie as she went to sleep and more tears made their way to the surface.  
Hear us...hear us  
Though you're far away  
Here's a song that I sang  
Beyond the rainbow's land  
  
Hear us...Hear us  
Through blue skies or gray  
And it's from our hearts  
That's where the music starts  
  
Sydney collapsed on the sofa and fell asleep, dreaming, of course, about Melanie. She didn't wake up until she heard the doorbell ringing nonstop and Vaughn's voice.  
"Sydney, it's me! C'mon, open up its urgent!" Vaughn yelled. She got and ran to the door of the house. "Vaughn, what is it?" she asked. "We've apprehended Sark. He says he's got vital information for us." He replied. "What does this have to do with me? I quit last year, remember?" she said, desperately trying to stay calm.  
"Yes, but this concerns you...and me. He mentioned the name 'Melanie.'" He said, although Sydney had a feeling he wasn't supposed to tell her. "Does he know where she is?" Sydney asked hopefully.  
"I don't know. Dixon said to get you and he'll fill us in at the debriefing. We need to go." Vaughn said impatiently. Sydney grabbed her jacket, put it on over her pajama top, and followed her ex-husband to his car.  
  
A/N: Please r/r it's my first story. I'll have the 2nd chapter up soon, but my sister is hogging the computer. Ok, I made a deal her but that doesn't mean I'm ok w/it... 


	2. Though You're Far Away

Melanie's Lullaby Ch 1 'Hear Us...hear Us' Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, nothing belongs to me...except Melanie and maybe some other characters, but I don't know yet.  
  
Sydney sat on her bed, tears streaming down her face as she stared at the picture she was holding in her shaky hands. Her daughter Melanie, who was 4 at the time, was sitting on a park bench in between her parents, eating an ice cream cone. It was the last picture of Melanie before she had been kidnapped. Sydney remembered staying up all night and day searching for Melanie, but had reluctantly given up after a year. Dixon, Jack, even Melanie's father Vaughn had told her it was useless. So Sydney had quit the CIA, this time for good and all she ever did was lay around in Melanie's room, staring at pictures of the whole family together, watch home movies, or simply cry until there weren't any tears left.  
But no one objected to Sydney's resignation, which Sydney had to give them. She couldn't stand being around people who had given up so easily on her daughter and who had even tried convincing her to do the same. Well they did, Sydney thought angrily. She started to hum the lullaby she would sing to Melanie as she went to sleep and more tears made their way to the surface.  
Hear us...hear us  
Though you're far away  
Here's a song that I sang  
Beyond the rainbow's land  
  
Hear us...Hear us  
Through blue skies or gray  
And it's from our hearts  
That's where the music starts  
  
Sydney collapsed on the sofa and fell asleep, dreaming, of course, about Melanie. She didn't wake up until she heard the doorbell ringing nonstop and Vaughn's voice.  
"Sydney, it's me! C'mon, open up its urgent!" Vaughn yelled. She got and ran to the door of the house. "Vaughn, what is it?" she asked. "We've apprehended Sark. He says he's got vital information for us." He replied. "What does this have to do with me? I quit last year, remember?" she said, desperately trying to stay calm.  
"Yes, but this concerns you...and me. He mentioned the name 'Melanie.'" He said, although Sydney had a feeling he wasn't supposed to tell her. "Does he know where she is?" Sydney asked hopefully.  
"I don't know. Dixon said to get you and he'll fill us in at the debriefing. We need to go." Vaughn said impatiently. Sydney grabbed her jacket, put it on over her pajama top, and followed her ex-husband to his car.  
  
A/N: Please r/r it's my first story. I'll have the 2nd chapter up soon, but my sister is hogging the computer. Ok, I made a deal her but that doesn't mean I'm ok w/it...  
  
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except Melanie and Ben 'Snake' Schol.  
  
I actually updated! Thanx to all who reviewed! Here's the next chapter! ^_^  
  
"Anna, come down here please." Lauren Reed called up to the little girl. Anna immediately stopped polishing the necklace her mother had given her and ran downstairs where her mother was standing.  
"Yes Mommy?" Anna asked. Lauren stayed silent for a moment, enjoying the complete control she had over the little girl. Kids were so vulnerable, especially at a young age.  
"Anna, Daddy's been captured." Lauren said, seeing if the girl would start asking questions, start crying, or both. But she remained silent and still. Lauren continued.  
"As you know, he'll be out in record time, but until he's here, I want you watching the news, and find the CIA's weak points, and eventually come up with a plan for his escape. You have three days, otherwise... you know." She said threateningly.  
Anna's face displayed no emotion, although Lauren knew that on the inside she was trembling. Lauren and Sark had tortured a lot of people that way and only a handful of them survived. Yet the girl was still alive, remarkable as it was. She was as strong as her mother; Lauren had to give her that.  
"The TV's free. Hurry." She said calmly. The grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil, ready to take notes. Lauren went upstairs and into her room. She got out her cell phone and called the recruit Ben Schol, although he was known as Snake. He had been recruited in 2004 when Sydney and Vaughn had gotten married and Lauren had been forced into hiding. He had been the Covenant's newest recruit, but had shown the most potential.  
"What boss?" Snake asked groggily.  
"Wake up and your lazy ass up. Sark's been captured." She told him.  
"Well what do you want me to do?" Snake asked.  
"The brat's forming a plan to get him out. When she's done you'll be assisting her in the escape." Lauren informed him as coolly as she could.  
"What makes you think she'll have it finished?" Snake wondered lazily. Lauren could tell he was getting a beer.  
"Oh she'll be ready. Regardless of her parentage, she's been quite helpful to us." She replied defensively.  
"What makes you think she won't find out?" Snake asked after he took a sip.  
"Don't question your assignment, and don't doubt your superiors. That's enough questions, just get prepared and wait until she's finished. And stay put." She snapped.  
"And what if the brat fails?" Snake asked, ignoring Lauren's warning.  
"You'll see. All in good time Mr. Schol, all in good time." She said and hung up without another word. She smirked as she went downstairs to see how the girl was doing. 


	3. Here's A Song That I Sang

Disclaimer: Everyone knows I don't own Alias so why do I even have to make one? I only own Melanie and Snake  
  
A/N: Thanks to people who read my story!! I love you all!!!!! This chapter is longer than the others. *This* means a character is thinking.  
  
Melanie ran as hard as hard as she could down the hallway, knowing it would be over for her if she got caught. She hated the look on her real mommy's face as she saw her trying to unlock the cell Sark was locked in. As much as she had wanted to run in her real mother's arms, she knew she couldn't. The time just wasn't right. After all, she was only six, and that was too young to fight back. Well, the real reason was that she wasn't strong enough, and even if she managed to give one of her captors a concussion, there would still be two more.  
So she had no choice but to run away from her parents, the CIA, and any form of safety there was. Of course, she was going to be punished severely for not getting Sark out, but maybe Lauren would understand that running was the only choice. Melanie heard her mommy's footsteps come closer, and she knew she had to hide from her. As she turned the corner, she ran into a dead end. *Crap!* Melanie thought. Quickly she felt around for any place to hide, and to her relief, found a small corner. She crouched down and held back the tears that was coming as she saw her mommy stand where she had stood, looking around for her daughter. The look on her face was so desperate, Melanie thought of coming out and hugging her, but it was impossible at the moment. Finally Sydney walked away, leaving Melanie feeling worse than ever.  
  
FLASHBACK: 2 DAYS EARLIER  
  
The news hardly had anything of Sark's arrest by the CIA. Taking notes on the news wasn't Melanie's favorite pastime. But one of the reasons she put up with it was that there was always the chance of seeing her mommy and daddy. But she hadn't seen her mommy on TV for about a year. Lately she would only catch small glimpses of her daddy. Finally Sark's latest mug shot appeared on the screen and Melanie sat up in her seat and grabbed her pencil and paper.  
The TV showed a CIA Swat team escorting Sark to the main building. Melanie observed the scene in front of her, anxious to find any means of breaking in without the CIA knowing. But there was nothing. Only a building with walls impossible to climb, security cameras that the untrained eye wouldn't see, steel doors, and small window only kids could get through. *Wait!* Melanie thought, relief filling her body, *That's it!*  
A plan formed in her mind faster than she could think, and she wrote it down with pleasure. As soon as she was finished she went upstairs to Lauren's room where she was on her computer. "What is it Anna?" Lauren asked in a bored voice.  
"I finished." Melanie said, slipping back into the person she was pretending to be. Lauren looked from her computer and stared from Melanie to the piece of paper in her hand.  
"That was awfully fast. You had better be sure this will work." Lauren threatened in the voice Melanie remembered her mommy telling her about when she told her stories of her time at the CIA.  
"It will." Melanie said and waited until Lauren dismissed her to go back in her room and polish the necklace Sydney had given her the day she was born.  
  
The next day Melanie woke to Lauren's voice and Snake's voice. She groaned hatefully. Lauren and Sark treated her badly, but Snake was like a mixture of both of them. He never missed an opportunity to boss her around and say mean things to her. She stayed in her bed until Lauren called her down. She went to the kitchen and when she saw Snake smirking at her, she knew he knew about the plan. "So you're the little mastermind of this piece of work? Who knew a little brat like you could come up with this." He said evilly.  
Melanie stayed quiet and went to fix herself some cereal. "Make yourself useful and get me some coffee." Snake ordered. Melanie took a mug from the cabinet, poured some coffee in it, and handed it to Snake, resisting the urge to put garlic in it. Snake was allergic to garlic. "Ok, so this is how it's going to work. We'll drive to the CIA in an unmarked van so they can't trace us. Anna, you and Snake will get out. Snake will drill the window out of the slot so you can get in. You'll be wearing this suit. None of your body except your mouth will be showing. You wear this suit, and you'll be invisible to the security cameras. You'll find a way to get Sark out, and come back through the window. Sark knows some secret passages so he can come out from the closest one to us. Fairly simple, but it'll do. We leave tonight." Lauren informed them.  
Melanie looked at the suit, disgust making its way on her face. It was ugly, but she would have no choice. Melanie threw her cereal away as soon as Lauren left so she wouldn't have to be in the same room as Snake. He always touched her in inappropriate places, and sometimes slapped her for no reason. Luckily he was too into his Playboy magazine he didn't notice Melanie flicking him off.  
  
Around ten that night Lauren, Snake, and Melanie arrived at the CIA. All three got out and got their gear ready. Lauren handed everyone a gun, tranquilizers, and handed Melanie a lock pick, which Melanie thought was a little weak for this job. When she finished and told them the plan one more time, Snake and Melanie went to the window. Snake took out his drill and as soon as all the nails were out of it, he threw it to the side and Melanie slid through. This was the first time she had been in the CIA, and she was fascinated. It was nothing like Covenant headquarters. That looked like they tried to duplicate a dungeon.  
She must've been really far from their debriefing room and the cells because this side of the building sounded like it was deserted. It was like a maze with all its hallways and dead ends. Melanie was absolutely fascinated. She kept walking until she found the coldest part of the building, where she saw about five cells. The only occupant was Sark. When he saw Melanie he smiled. "Hey Anna. Love your outfit." He said sarcastically. Melanie remained silent as she took out the lock pick and tried to unlock the cell.  
Soon she heard footsteps and heard her mommy's voice. She started to run, Sydney was following her, and she ran into the dead end. As Melanie hid in her hiding place, she saw tears streaming down Sydney's face. "M- Melanie?" she stammered. Melanie remained silent. "Was th-that you?" she asked. When Sydney gave up and turned around Melanie slowly and quietly got out of the hiding place. She started going back to Sark, but as she did, she saw Sydney yelling at him, probably about her. She ran as quietly as she could back to the window. She climbed out and looked into Lauren's eyes.  
"Did you get him?" Lauren asked in the best motherly voice she could manage. "No. Sydney almost caught me so I had to run out here." Melanie replied. "You led the CIA to us?" Lauren demanded. "No! She was talking to Sark so I left before she saw me again." Melanie said.  
"We'd better go. We'll get caught if we don't." Snake interrupted them and he opened the van door. Lauren got in too, so Melanie got into the back, disappointment and fear filling her body. The last thing she saw was Sydney opening a back door, staring at the van that carried her daughter away from her once more.  
  
A/N: Please review! I don't care if they're good or bad, but please review. Give me suggestions and I'll take them!!! ^__^ 


	4. Beyond The Rainbow's End

Disclaimer: Everyone knows I don't own Alias so why do I even have to make one? I only own Melanie and Snake  
  
The day couldn't have been worse for Vaughn. Not only did Dixon want him to pick up his ex-wife, but he had to listen to her ramble on about how if they hadn't given up none of this would've happened. It wasn't that he didn't love Sydney anymore; he did. But she was blind to the fact that he had never given up on Melanie. The CIA had given up. She didn't know that he had started his own investigation on her disappearance and had even killed a man to get some info, although, as it turned out, it wasn't the best move on his part. Luckily Sydney hadn't stayed on the subject of Melanie too long.  
"So, is everyone still at the CIA?" she asked, staring out the window.  
"Yeah. Everyone's still there. Well, except Lauren obviously. Carrie just had a baby." Vaughn told her.  
"Yeah? Boy or girl?" Sydney asked.  
"Boy. His name's Matt." Vaughn replied, trying to stay on Sydney's good side. "Bet Mitchell's happy." Sydney said.  
"He is." Vaughn said and they remained silent until they got to the parking lot of the CIA headquarters. Sydney got out quickly and started walking towards the entrance without Vaughn. He gave an exasperated sigh as he got out of his car, locked it, and followed Sydney inside the building. She was heading for the elevators and walked inside one that was empty except for a CIA analyst.  
Sydney was the first one out of the elevator. She was greeted by everyone except Jack, who Vaughn knew, wanted to welcome her in private. Vaughn rubbed his eyes and sat down at his desk, staring at a picture of a three-year-old Melanie sitting on top of Vaughn's shoulders at the park, smiling widely. Sydney was standing next to them, her arm around his waist. Vaughn smiled, wishing that life was still here. Now all he had to show for it was an empty apartment, and a chocolate lab, Hershey. He opened the file he had bought from a retired Covenant agent two weeks ago. It had updates on where Lauren Reed had been the past month, but it turned out to be useless. He might as well have been trying to find the tooth fairy, but he knew for his benefit, and Sydney's as well, that keeping the investigation open would increase their chances of finding Melanie and continue their lives instead of keeping it paused.  
"Vaughn, debriefing in two minutes." Weiss said. Vaughn took no notice of him. He put the file back on his desk and watched as Sydney hugged Jack. He said something to her, which made her nod, and then they both looked at him briefly before turning back. He stood up and went to the debriefing room and sat at his usual seat. When everyone had assembled, Dixon stood up.  
"First off, I'd like to take this time to welcome Agent Bristow back to the agency. We're honored to have her back." He said.  
"I'm not back Dixon. Agent Vaughn informed me that you had new details in the disappearance of my daughter." Sydney said in the voice that she used when she got angry.  
"Yes, that is true. But this isn't just some information. It could require missions, and quite some time here. If you want to stay informed than I suggest you learn your way around here once more, so again I'll say, welcome back Agent Bristow." Dixon said. Everyone looked at him in surprise. He had never spoken so bitterly to anyone like that except Sloane back in 2004. Vaughn glanced at Sydney. She looked too distracted to notice, but no one was in the mood to say anything.  
Dixon continued. "As you all know, we apprehended Sark yesterday, and when he was being interrogated, he mentioned the name Melanie. He refused to give us any information, which tells me he's just messing with us, but just to be sure, we will be interrogating him and use any means necessary to get him to talk. Jack, I'm putting you in charge of that." Dixon said. Jack nodded, keeping his poker face intact.  
"When we get a lead, you all will be informed. I'm having every available agent put on this case not only because it could lead us to the end of the Covenant, along with the arrest of Lauren Reed, but it'll bring us to a final conclusion on the whereabouts of Melanie Bristow." Dixon said.  
"Uh, excuse me Director Dixon, I'd like to say something...like your tie by the way did you get that at Sears because I was thinking about getting one-"Marshall rambled, but Dixon cut him off.  
"What is it Marshall?" he asked in the tone of voice Sloane always had with him.  
"Oh! Yes of course. What makes everyone so sure that Melanie is with Miss Reed and the Covenant?" he asked, looking everyone in the eye, but no one made any notice of him.  
"Based on our intelligence, it was more than likely she is with the Covenant, which is just another reason we need to bring them down. They have caused too many people too much pain." He said, looking at Sydney when he said this.  
Everyone was silent until Dixon dismissed them. Jack immediately went towards Sark's cell and everyone else sat at their desks. Vaughn tried avoiding Sydney but didn't have to work hard at it. She went to Marshall. Without thinking Vaughn took out the letter he wrote but never sent to Sydney a year ago. He had been planning on sending it to her the day the divorce was final, but never had the heart to send it. The state of mind she had been in during the divorce hadn't been something to take lightly. She had barely been able to handle the pressure of then. She didn't need to read a letter that basically discussed all the faults they had together, and how she had it all wrong about him and the CIA, but he had decided against sending it when he had seen the look on her face the day before the divorce hearing. She looked like she had taken every illegal drug on the face of the earth. She hadn't been a state of mind to drive, which made sense because she had knocked over a house's mailbox, and broke a fire hydrant.  
And now he took it out again, and kept looking from the letter to Sydney, deciding whether or not to give it to her. God knew she needed to hear what was in it. So before he could stop himself, he stood up and walked to where Sydney was standing with Marshall, talking about Mitchell and Matt. They both looked up at Vaughn when he came into their line of vision.  
"Hey Vaughn, just telling Sydney about Mitchell's first time on a roller coaster. Now that was a thing to see." He said. Sydney was trying to conceal a grin, which made her look even more beautiful than she already was. "I'm sure it was Marshall. "Syd, I wanted to give this to you." He said, and before he could stop himself, gave Sydney the letter that he thought, may make her change her mind about what she had believed for too long now. He went back to sit at his desk, and had only been there for two minutes when Sydney came up and slapped him in the face. Vaughn looked at her incredulously.  
"That's for lying to me, saying you care about Melanie. I know Dixon and everyone else here is trying to make me think that they're trying to find Melanie, that they want to help me and bring my daughter back to me, but I expected more from you. How dare you come up to me, and blame me for what you did you sick son of a bitch." She said to him. But Vaughn didn't see anger in her face. Only disappointment. And with that, she turned, and walked out of the office.  
  
A/N: Like it? Hate it? PLEASE review!! If you have any suggestions, or advice for me, I'll try my best to make them work. But I can't write the story without you guys so review please! 


	5. Through Blue Skies Or Gray

Disclaimer: Everyone knows I don't own Alias so why do I even have to make one? I only own Melanie and Snake  
  
A/N: Another chapter! I hope everyone that reads this likes it. Happy Easter! This does take place a couple hours before Melanie breaks into the CIA. Just saying that in case anyone gets confused.  
  
Sydney walked back into the CIA building two hours later, feeling better about everything, including Vaughn. After she had gone to the restaurant Francie had owned before she was killed and had eaten the largest meal on the menu, she had taken a walk in the park, screaming when she had the urge to, and just letting out all the emotions that had been inside her too long. She had even joined a bunch of women doing some yoga, which Sydney didn't regret at all. She had practiced some defense moves so she could get back in shape in case Dixon called her on a mission. Then she had done some deep breathing exercises. When she was finished with all that, she felt better than she had in two years.  
She walked back in the CIA feeling like she could handle anything. Everyone seemed to notice the glow she had on her face as she walked back to her desk. "Hey Syd. I guess I don't even have to ask if you feel ok." Weiss said to her. Sydney smiled and said, "I'm feeling tons better. How have you been? It seems like it's been forever."  
"Yeah it sure does. I'm doing good. Haven't been killed yet, so I'm taking that as a good sign." He joked.  
Sydney laughed. "It's always a good sign when you're still alive. Listen, I'm sorry about the way I've been acting in the past. Sadness got in the way of my good judgment. Forgive me?" she asked.  
"You bet. You're here aren't you? That's a good sign too." Weiss said.  
Sydney beamed. "Thanks. That means a lot." She said. Weiss nodded and gave her a friendly hug.  
After the hug, Dixon came over. "Listen Sydney. I'm sorry about the way I acted in the debriefing. I was out of line. You have to forgive me. My brain forgives faster than my mouth." He said, doing his best to sound like he used to back at SD-6.  
"What are you talking about?" Sydney asked, confused.  
"Well, when you turned in your resignation and said 'I hope you all rot in Hell where you belong', well, let's say I wasn't exactly anxious to invite you over for dinner. But then I figured it was just the anger talking, so I let it go. Unfortunately what you heard tonight was just some of my leftover resentment. Forgive me?" Dixon asked, staring at her like he wasn't trying to smile. Sydney nodded.  
"Wait, I got it! Why don't we just gather everybody there is to gather in the building, and take turns forgiving each other! Doesn't that seem like what we should do? I'll go first. Dixon, I forgive you for stealing my job as Director." Weiss joked. Dixon and Sydney laughed.  
"And I forgive you for not buying me a drink at Carrie's birthday." Dixon laughed.  
"Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to head over to analysis and see if they've found anything useful in the Melanie kidnapping." Weiss said and went to the elevators. And I've got to see how Jack's doing with Sark. Excuse me Syd." Dixon said and left towards the cells. Sydney sat back down at her hollow desk, secretly watching Vaughn as he went through the drawers in his desk, putting paper after paper onto the top of it. Sydney took the letter out and reread it.  
  
Dear Sydney,  
By the time you're reading this, you're probably getting ready to leave the house and head over to the firm where you will be waiting anxiously for this divorce to be final. Unfortunately, by then it'll be too late for you to change your mind. But regardless of the outcome, you really need to hear what I have to say, and since you're not returning my calls, or answering the door whenever I'm there, I have no choice but to resort to paper, and please don't throw it away before you read it because it's important. First of all, I want you to know that not all of this is my fault. We are both to blame. You need to stop pushing people away who just want to help. You've been doing this for too long, and it will lose you many friends. And as for Melanie's disappearance, it isn't the CIA's fault. They shut down the case because they were obligated to. There are more important things going on in this world than the disappearance of a child, and I know that sounds selfish and rude, but it's the only way I can think of to say it even though it sounds like I don't care for Melanie, but I do. But there are terrorists out there who would like nothing more than to kill every citizen of the United States and to call this country their own. And right now, the CIA doesn't have time to look for her. But again, I want you to know that we are all still hopeful for Melanie's safe return and have not given up completely. And last of all, I want you to know that I forgive you for leaving Melanie at the table, even though you should've stayed there. But I'm not pointing any fingers except towards the Covenant. So please just try to understand everything I've told you in this letter. And again I say that I'm no longer mad at you for taking your eye off Melanie. When she's found, I hope we can put this incident aside and start our lives over again. Love, Your husband  
  
Sydney crumpled it back up in a ball and put it back in her jacket pocket. She still couldn't believe that Vaughn could write that stuff, saying he forgave her for taking her eye off Melanie, but it was he who had taken his eye off of her. And it wasn't just the fact that he took his eye off their daughter for one second when she was gone, but the fact that he blamed her for it. Saying how the CIA was obligated to shut down the case because there was more important things going on in the world and how they had to focus their attention on that. He deserved what he got. A divorce, a lonely life, and a good hit in the face.  
Dixon came back soon afterwards, followed by Jack who was trying to argue something to him. Sydney didn't bother going over for she'd know what they were talking about soon enough. Her father always shared his information with her. She got up and went to the security cameras that highlighted all the cells. Sydney focused her attention to the one that held Sark. He was sitting on his cot, cradling his left arm which looked to Sydney to be broken. But soon enough he stopped cradling his arm and was leaning over and smirking, as if talking to someone and getting some pleasurable entertainment. The odd thing was that the camera showed no one standing there, but Sydney knew there was. Sark might've been a cold- blooded murderer who deserved nothing more than the death penalty (A/N: This is Sydney's thoughts, not mine! ^_^) but he wasn't crazy.  
Sydney walked as casually as she could down towards the cells, where she heard Sark's voice. Walking faster, she called out, "Who's there?"  
Footsteps were the effect of her voice, so Sydney quickened to a run, making the guard raise the lever to the cells. She ran past Sark's cell, ignoring whatever smirk he had on his face. Suddenly a hum was coming from the person she was chasing. They were humming a song Sydney knew only too well. She ran faster, trying desperately to catch up with whoever she was chasing. She saw a small figure running at top speed away from her, all the while humming the lullaby Sydney used to sing to Melanie every night as she went to sleep.  
When the figure turned into a dead end, Sydney's spirits were lifted, but when she turned the corner, there was nobody there. "M-Melanie?" she stammered as she started to cry. No reply. She continued. "Was th-that you?" she asked, no longer having any control over the tears. After a minute or so and still no response, she reluctantly turned around and walked towards Sark's cell, knowing what she'd do.  
She marched up to him, angry tears coming out of her eyes.  
"Who were you talking to you son of a bitch?" she snapped at him. Sark just smirked deeper.  
"Now, now, there's no need for name calling Mrs. Bristow. Or should I call you Ms. Bristow, seeing as how you're divorced.  
"It's Agent Bristow to you. Who the hell were you talking to?" she yelled at him.  
"Why don't you go back down that hallway to the farthest corridor? Maybe your answer lies there." Sark said, pointing back the way she came from. She ran as fast as she could back down the hallway and came to a door that led to the back way. She ran out, praying she'd find Melanie outside, waiting for her. But instead she saw a white van making it's way out of the lot, the small figure looking back at her, looking at her with the eyes she knew all too well.  
Vaughn's eyes.  
Tears streaming down her cheek, she walked back inside, knowing it would be pointless trying to run after the van. Instead she walked back into the headquarters where she ran up to Jack. He hugged her with deep sincerity.  
"What is it?" he asked gently.  
"I saw Melanie. Dad, I saw her, she was here!" she cried into his shoulder, feeling six-years-old again.  
"Are you sure? You might've just thought it up." He pointed out. Sydney shook her head.  
"I saw her Dad. There was no mistaking the eyes. She even hummed the l-lullaby." She said.  
"I'll have security section bring us the tapes of Sark's cell. That will confirm if she was there tonight. But first, I want to discuss something with you." He said, and pulled her towards his desk. He took a spare chair from the desk nearest his and offered it to Sydney.  
"What is it?" she asked, wiping the tears from her face.  
"As you know, I spoke with Sark, torturing him for any information he had. He said he'd tell us everything we wanted to know, but first we have to do something for him." Jack said, looking as serious as Sydney had ever seen him.  
"What does he want? And why are you telling me this and not Dixon?" Sydney asked.  
"Because what Sark wants, Dixon will never agree to. I told him, I tried everything to persuade him, but he refuses, so we have no choice but to do it ourselves, but I need your word that you will not back out. I wouldn't ask this of you if Sark wasn't being picky and wanted you to do it personally." He said. Sydney sighed impatiently.  
"What does he want?" she asked again.  
"Your mother's dead body."  
  
A/N: Finally a cliffhanger that's actually big! Thanks to the nine of you who have reviewed! I love you all! Two updates in one day! There's your Easter present from me! Actually I wouldn't have been able to do it if I hadn't persuaded my sister to let me have it. She's Jack the Monkey. She writes Pirates of the Caribbean stuff. Her story is The Return Of Barbossa, but don't read it, it's stupid (just kidding, Sarah!) Anyway, please r/r!! 


	6. If We Reach From Our Hearts

Disclaimer: Everyone knows I don't own Alias so why do I even have to make one? I only own Melanie and Snake  
  
A/N: I'm not writing from Melanie's POV yet because I don't know what to do yet. I don't know what Lauren should do as a punishment because I don't want it to be too harsh, but it can't be like, standing in a corner for an hour. She's a bad guy after all! If you have a suggestion, I will gladly put them into consideration!!  
  
"Why the hell does Sark want Mom dead?" Sydney demanded incredulously. She knew as well as anyone that Irina had basically mothered Sark. She had taught him everything she knew.  
  
"That's what I asked, but apparently Sark wants that kept for himself. He hasn't said anything about what he wants done yet because he wants you in there when he explains it, the prick." Jack spat angrily.  
  
"And no one's going to know about this? It's just going to be you and me?" Sydney asked, hoping he'd say no; that someone else would have to do the deed of killing her mother.  
  
"Yes." Jack answered.  
  
"Isn't there another way? He's got to want something other than this. This is inhuman!" Sydney complained. It was ironic when, back in 2002 she wanted her mother dead, and that she had said that given the opportunity, she wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger, and now she was begging not to.  
  
"Sydney, I know this is hard for you, but right now it's the only option." Jack said sympathetically.  
  
"There has to be another way!" Sydney exclaimed angrily, all the emotions she had just gotten rid of making their way back inside her.  
  
Jack stayed silent then said quietly, "Sark wants to talk to you about this, for what reason I cannot predict. You can lash out at him if you want, you have my permission."  
He got up and Sydney followed him to the cells. Two medical agents were finishing up with the cast and checking for internal wounds.  
  
When the medical people left, Sark sat back in his cot like he expected them to arrive. "Sydney, I see your father has briefed you in on what I am expecting. I'm just so glad I get to see you again. When was the last time, ten minutes?" he said, amused by the control he had over the Bristow's even when he was their prisoner.  
  
"Shut up!" Jack said and punched Sark in the face. Sark got up, but without his amused face. He looked like he was getting ready to inform someone of a highly dangerous mission (which he was).  
  
"What is your reason for wanting Irina Derevko dead?" Sydney asked, doing her best to stay calm.  
  
"I'm afraid that's need to know. But what you need to know is that in order to have your precious Melanie back, you must first terminate Irina Derevko." Sark said.  
  
"Yes, you've said this already. What you haven't mentioned is where we can find Irina, how we'll do it, etc." Jack said impatiently.  
  
"Irina is in India. Her alias is Amenah Bezrali and she's checked into a hotel, but she never stays in one place for long, so I'd suggest you get there before she decides she doesn't want to stay in India anymore. The hotel's name is The Kebarel, only the wealthy can afford to stay in a place like that. You can provide your own transportation and aliases I trust. Jack, you must have at least one contact that can provide for you." Sark informed them.  
  
"How do we know this isn't a trap?" Sydney asked suspiciously.  
  
"You can't know for sure, but we both want different things for different reasons for wanting them. You want your daughter and I want something else. We can't reach our goals without what the other can provide, so I hope you can trust that this isn't a trap." Sark said.  
  
No one said anything else until the guard said, "Agent Bristow's, it's eleven p.m. Don't you need to get home?"  
"Yes, thank you." Jack said and he and Sydney left without another word.  
  
When Sydney returned to her house, she was exhausted. They had agreed to meet in the middle of a field. in the middle of town. Jack was getting one of his contacts to provide a private jet in the middle of a field to get to India. She had to meet him at five in the morning, but she didn't feel like she'd be able to get up at that hour. Without bothering to change, she went up to her bedroom, set the alarm on her cell phone, and fell asleep.  
  
The cell phone alarm rang at 3:30. Slowly she got up to take a shower, dressed in casual stuff, grabbed a granola bar and headed to the field. Jack was already there, leaning against his car. Sydney knew he'd stayed up all night. When he saw her, he walked towards her.  
  
"Hello Sydney. Did you sleep well?" he asked.  
  
"As much sleep as you can get, knowing that the next morning you'll have to kill your mother." Sydney said tiredly.  
  
"Well, try to sleep some more on the plane. You'll need your strength." Jack said, getting a distant look in his eyes, like he always did when he was thinking about Irina. Sydney nodded, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to.  
  
They remained silent until they heard the engine of a plane. They turned around and ran towards it. The pilot was the same man they had come to in India when they were looking for the nukes.  
  
"Good morning Jack. Good morning Sydney." He said. "Good morning. What is your ETA?" Jack asked.  
  
"Oh, about eight hours. You two just get some rest. Let me fly the plane." He said and shooed them towards the passenger seats where they settled in. Sydney and Jack sat in different aisles, both looking out the window.  
  
Sydney was remembering everything she could about her mother. The bedtime stories, the times they'd spend the entire day together. Being reunited in 2002, loving her, being her mother. And now she got to murder her mother in cold blood, because Julian Sark wanted her to. She fell asleep with that thought in mind.  
  
She awoke to her father gently nudging her awake. "We've landed. We need to hurry." He said and Sydney got up, got off the plane, and followed the contact out into an empty field.  
  
"You need to hurry, you must not be recognized by the wrong people. There is a CIA safe house around here that can provide you with whatever you need." The contact said. They kept walking until the contact pointed to a small, rundown house.  
  
"There is the safe house. It needed to be shabby or else the enemy would walk in, expecting to steal valuables, and when they see CIA equipment, they kill us all. But it has everything you are looking for." The contact said.  
  
"Thank you." Jack said and he and Sydney headed towards it, feeling very heavyhearted. When they got in, they a couch with its stuffing coming out, a very small TV that looked like it was made in the 1920's, a cabinet or two filled with Indian food, and drawers filled with clothes. Jack rummaged through a desk in a small corner and took out a piece of paper.  
  
"Our names are Ezra and Salvio Fijian. We are father and daughter looking for my sister, your aunt. Amenah Bezrali. Here are our disguises." Jack said as he took out a blue Indian dress and scarf for Sydney, and a white top, a brown vest, and brown baggy pants. He took out a fake beard and a white head scarf (A/N: I have no idea what they're called!!).  
  
He took out four loaded .45 millimeter guns and handed two to Sydney and kept two for himself. He gave Sydney some extra ammo and kept some for himself. He also gave each of them a small knife to make enemies who got in their way suffer. When they had eaten something, they looked up The Kebarel on the Internet. When they knew where they were going, and had everything they needed, they sat on the sofa, preparing themselves to go and assassinate Irina Derevko.  
  
A/N: Will Jack and Sydney murder Irina Derevko? Why does Sark need her dead? Review and the next chapter will be up soon!!! ^__^ 


	7. That's Where The Music Starts

Disclaimer: If I owned Alias, then Lauren Reed would be somewhere in Antarctica, Francie would still be alive, Will would still be in the picture, and Irina would be back in the show! None of those things are in the show, so apparently I don't own it...(  
  
A/N: I'm just going ahead with Melanie's story. I have nothing else to do, so why not update?  
  
After Lauren had dumped Snake off at his ratty apartment, she had driven the ride to their house in silence. She was waiting until they got home to start whatever she was going to do. Melanie just stared out the window, wondering what her mom was doing. Was she going out of her way to try to find her? Would she see her face all over the TV like she did during the first couple months of her kidnapping? Well, she didn't really see herself on TV during the first couple months. Sark and Lauren were doing what the Covenant had done to Sydney when she had disappeared for 2 years. Try to brainwash her.  
  
But luckily Project Christmas had helped her in not being brainwashed. When Melanie was three, her parents had started what her grandpa had done to Sydney on her. They did Project Christmas on her so that she wouldn't be vulnerable in case the Covenant was planning on doing exactly what they did. They had starved and tortured both of them, done everything they could think of so that they'd make her believe her name was Anna Reed instead of Melanie Bristow.  
  
When they got back, Lauren unlocked the door and pushed Melanie in. "Get in! Why were you so careless that you let yourself get caught?" Lauren demanded harshly.  
  
"I wasn't caught! If I was caught, then I wouldn't be here, would I?" Melanie asked.  
  
"But your position was compromised! Did you take off your suit? Was it too ugly for you?" Lauren asked sarcastically.  
  
"I didn't take it off! I'm not stupid, Mommy!" Melanie said, hating what she was forced to call Lauren.  
  
"No, I suppose you're not. But we could've succeeded if you'd been more careful!" Lauren said in a motherly voice, like she was telling her daughter that she had to be more careful because she broke something.  
  
Melanie just nodded. She had nothing else to say. Nothing nice anyway. "Go to your room. I'll think of a punishment later." Lauren said, and gestured to the upstairs where Melanie went as fast as she could. When Lauren thought about punishments, usually they were No food for a day., or Having to stay in the backyard for two days and two nights without coming inside once. It wasn't bad, but she still envied those kids who just had to go without dessert. Melanie took off the suit and put on her black pajamas and climbed into her bed. She stayed there until she heard Lauren's voice. She was talking on her cell phone, but it wasn't to Snake.  
  
"Yes, we tried, but Sydney Bristow caught up to us. What the hell else were we supposed to do? Stay there and ignore the CIA until we busted Sark out of there?" Lauren asked incredulously to whoever she was talking. There was silence for about half a minute then Lauren was talking again.  
  
"The plan was good. It was simple and basic. Exactly what the CIA isn't expecting from us." Lauren was pleading now.  
  
"It wasn't too basic! Look, I know the girl is a little too young for this job, but this is excellent training for her, and when she gets a little older, she will soon forget the life she had before. She's been a huge help to us, she's never done anything on purpose. She hasn't betrayed us so far, has she?" Lauren tried pointing out. There was silence, and Melanie could tell that she was getting impatient.  
  
"She isn't going to. She thinks she's Anna Reed, she no longer knows that she is Melanie Bristow, she has no knowledge that Melanie Bristow even exists. She thinks I'm her mother, she believes that, and she loves me! There's no possible way that that girl still thinks she's Melanie Bristow." She said sincerely.  
  
Melanie knew what was going to come next. Whoever she was talking to was going to order Lauren to give her a test. A test to see if she still thought she was Anna Reed. What she heard next made her heart stop cold.  
  
"Yes, I know what is expected of me. If there are any doubts in her mind, there won't be for long." Lauren said, sounding more confidant. There was silence for a while then Lauren talked again. "Yes. Yes I know. I'll check in when we are sure that there are no doubts, then we can move forward." She said then hung up. Melanie heard her footsteps on the stairs.  
  
"Anna. Anna, Mommy's coming up." She said. Melanie wanted desperately to go hide, but that would just confirm what whoever Lauren was talking to put into her mind. So she stayed where she was, hoping that the fear she was feeling was hidden away off her face.  
  
Lauren entered her room, her arms crossed. "Yes Mommy?" Melanie asked, hoping her face didn't give anything away.  
  
"You need to come with me." Lauren said sternly, holding out her hand, wanting Melanie to take it. She did without thinking, and Lauren dragged her downstairs.  
  
"What are you doing?" Melanie asked as she tried to stand up straight. Lauren remained silent and continued to her destination.  
  
"This is just standard procedure honey. Mommy's work is having second thoughts about why you didn't get Sark out, therefore they want to make sure you are with my side, or the enemy side. This won't take long, I promise." Lauren said as she took out a key and slid it into the lock of the farthest door, opened it, and threw Melanie into it. "Like I said, this won't take long, but we have to convince the big boss. Do until that happens, you must stay in here." Lauren said as she closed and locked the door. Melanie waited until she was out of ear shot before she started to cry silently.  
  
Jack and Sydney made their way out of the safe house, looking around carefully for Irina, or anybody that might be in contact with her. No one looked remotely suspicious, which they didn't know to take as a good thing or bad thing. They looked at every sign by a large building to see which one was The Kebarel, but they didn't think it would be where they were since all the buildings they passed were shabby looking, and Sark said only the wealthy stayed there.  
  
"Excuse me, do you know where The Kebarel is?" Jack asked a business man in Indian (A/N: What language do people in India speak????).  
  
The man shook his head and they kept asking people until a group of teenagers nodded, and gave them directions. Turned out, it was a place you could only find if you knew where it was. It was well hidden, and heavily protected. They walked up to it where two separate guards wanded them. "Sorry, but we have reason to believe this hotel is being targeted by terrorists." One of the guards apologized to them in Indian.  
  
They nodded their approval and went up to the lobby desk. "Hello. Our names are Ezra and Salvio Fijian. We're looking for a relative. Amenah Bezrali." Jack told the clerk.  
  
"Yes, she left a message to send you two in when you arrived. Room 147." The clerk told them happily and pointed to the room. Sydney and Jack concealed their surprise, thanked the clerk, and went to room 147. They knocked on the door, and Irina answered, smiling at them in case anyone was watching, then waited until they were inside before pushing them into chairs. She pulled one up for herself then started talking.  
  
"One of Sark's agents informed me you two would be coming as Ezra and Salvio Fijian, coming to kill me. They are expecting me to take you two into custody where they can kill you personally. Sark has undoubtedly told you he needs me dead for something only he knows, but that's a lie. He has no intention of giving Melanie back to you. He, Lauren Reed, and the rest of the Covenant are planning something, and I need to know what it is, but if I'm exposed, then it's pointless. Do you remember the Rimbaldi prophecy?" Irina asked suddenly, looking more serious than either of them had ever seen her.  
  
"Yes. The one that everyone thinks I'm apart of." Sydney said, looking at her mother for whatever information she had.  
  
"Well, the woman in the prophecy isn't you. It's Melanie. The Covenant has apparently found something. Something extraordinary, something they need the woman in the prophecy for, but I don't know what that is yet." Irina told them.  
  
Sydney started doing deep breathing excercises. Did Irina know why Melanie was kidnapped? That was exactly what she asked her. "Do you know why Melanie was kidnapped?"  
  
"I have a general idea, but I can't tell you yet. I think I have found the key to bring the Covenant to an end, but to do that, I need your help. Are you in?" she asked Sydney and Jack. They looked at each other for a moment, not wanting to be fooled again. Then they looked at Irina and nodded, hoping Irina was right that she found out how to bring the Covenant down for good.  
  
A/N: Don't you love me? I've been watching the first season, and that's putting me in the mood for all these cliffhangers lately. Anyway, please r/r and you'll get chapter 8!! ^__^ 


	8. If I Fly To The Moon

Disclaimer: If I owned Alias, then Lauren Reed would be somewhere in Antarctica, Francie would still be alive, Will would still be in the picture, and Irina would be back in the show! None of those things are in the show, so apparently I don't own it...(  
  
A/N: Wow I already have 8 chapters! That's the most I've ever written for a fanfic. Thanx to all who review! You make me feel really good!  
  
When it was decided that the mission would be long term, Irina, Jack, and Sydney checked into a larger room with three beds. They kept their aliases and spent most of their time in their room, Irina telling them what she knew so far, which wasn't much, but it was more than anyone at the CIA knew.  
  
"What exactly are they planning to do with Melanie?" Sydney questioned her as she looked through some notes Irina had taken as she hacked into the Covenant's computer files. There wasn't much there since the Covenant's files were heavily guarded. Hackers had to type in the passwords a certain number of times and at a certain speed in a certain time frame. The files were encrypted in a seemingly impossible code so what little information Irina, Jack, and Sydney had wasn't useful enough to undergo a surprise attack.  
  
After three days worth of bad luck none of them were feeling very hopeful. Irina was on her laptop, typing madly again, Sydney was going over the few files Irina had managed to download off the Covenant's hard-drive, and Jack was on the phone, calling all his contacts in different countries to find out everything they could about the Covenant's plans, but so far nothing was working. Until Irina managed to hack into more of the Covenant's files.  
  
"Look at this. See those symbols? They stand for nonsense rambling, but the rambling itself is a code. If you can decipher the symbols and turn all the words backwards-like turning stressed to desserts-and take the third letter from each word and make them into other words, you might be able to get a clearer picture of what the Covenant is trying to do, and why they need Melanie for that." Irina told them as she printed out the newest file.  
  
"Are all the files like that?" Sydney asked as she took the paper.  
  
"No. The KGB used this type of code on their files, too. The symbols are very hard to decipher, but once you do, it won't be difficult to read. Sydney, I want you to start on that." Irina said. Sydney nodded and sat on her bed with another piece of paper to try to decipher the symbols.  
  
They stayed like this for the whole day. Jack had taken the files Sydney was looking at before, Irina was getting further and further into the core of the Covenant's mainframe, and Sydney was little by little coming closer to figuring out what the files read. At three in the morning, both Jack and Irina were asleep, but Sydney was still looking over the files, knowing her eyes were as red as the crayon for lack of sleep in four days. But she refused to give up, knowing every minute was a factor. She thought she had it pretty much figured out, but it was still very uncertain.  
  
Daydreaming now, she rested her head in her hands, glancing at the files every now and then, trying to read the files with every letter that made sense. But something struck her as odd when she read the files with the letters she had chosen the previous time. They actually made sense. She read over them once more to see if she made a mistake, but there was no mistake. She had deciphered the code!  
  
She wrote down the words that she could now easily read and did what her mother said to do. She made all the words backwards and took the third letter from each word and put them into separate words. When she was finished, the results surprised her.  
  
LOOK IN EGYPT. "Mom! Mom wake up!" Sydney exclaimed, waking her mother up from her laptop. Irina looked up and stared at Sydney. "What is it?" she asked.  
  
"That's what I wanted to ask you." Sydney said as she gestured to the piece of paper that had the message on it.  
  
Irina looked at the message for a long time, looking as confused as Sydney. "Do you think we should go?" Sydney asked as Irina looked up from the paper.  
  
"It's most likely a trap, but it's the only lead we have to go on. You wake Jack up, tell him what we're doing. I'm going to call my contact in Egypt, let him know we're coming, and investigate into everything he knows about the Covenant. We leave when my contact makes the signal." Irina told her and went for her cell phone. Sydney woke Jack up and told him what Irina had told her.  
  
"She's just leading us into Egypt, when she is more than positive it's a trap? Doesn't that seem suspicious to you?" Jack asked Sydney after she finished telling him what she knew.  
  
"Yes, but she knows what she's doing. She's calling her contact, she wouldn't put us in any danger intentionally. She wants the Covenant to go down as much as we do. And she's right, it's the only lead we have." Sydney pointed out to him.  
  
Jack stayed silent, then nodded. "Ok." He said and went to the lobby of the Kebarel to inform them they were checking out. Sydney went to pack away their belongings and equipment, and started walking towards the nearest airport where the contact would provide them with a private aircraft. They walked as slowly as they could so that security wouldn't see them as suspicious characters. When they were within a 100-foot radius Irina's cell phone rang.  
  
"Yeah." Irina said into her cell phone. Immediately after that she closed it. "It's waiting at the very back of the airport. There isn't any way we can get to the plane without being spotted, so we need disguises." She said as she wiped some sweat from her forehead. Jack immediately hurried them behind a corner and shushed them. They heard a security guard approaching. As soon as he was within reach, Jack grabbed him and wrapped his arm around his neck. With his free hand he took out his walkie-talkie.  
  
"Call in for two other guards or your family will be picking out your gravestone." Jack ordered. The guard took the walkie-talkie and called in for two other agents in Indian.  
  
Two minutes later two other guards arrived with their guns drawn. Jack and Irina went over to the guards and punched and kicked them until they were unconscious. Jack, Irina, and Sydney put on the guards' uniforms over their clothes and took their badges and guns. They crossed the airport without anyone recognizing them and got to the terminals where they pretended to be boarding a plane headed for Russia but then took off in the other direction towards the smaller jet in the background.  
  
When they made sure there wasn't anyone that was watching them they boarded the jet as fast as they could. Their contact greeted them with a "Hold on." and started the jet. Jack, Irina, and Sydney took off their guard uniforms and fell asleep gratefully.  
  
The contact woke them up about five hours later. "We are here. We must hurry." He said, sounding oddly like Jack's contact when they arrived in India.  
  
"Thank you." Irina said as she, Jack, and Sydney got off the jet. They stood up and waited for the contact to join them. He got off the jet a minute later, looking nervous.  
  
"Listen ok? Do you know what you're getting into? These people are dangerous, and they know what they're doing. This is most likely either a trap, or a red herring. Either way, your coming to Egypt was a mistake. You should go back." The contact said, extremely nervous.  
  
"But they have my daughter! Good decision or not, they have my daughter, and that's good enough for me. Are you going to help us or not?" Sydney asked.  
  
The contact hesitated then nodded. "Come to my place. We can talk there." He said and they followed him down a dark, dirty alley. At the end he turned left and was in the backyard of a small house. "It's very small and dirty, but it's all I can afford." he apologized as he led them into his house. He wasn't exaggerating when he said it was really dirty. The dust was rising off the floor and there were clothes and items scattered everywhere. But they were in too much of a rush to dwell on that for long.  
  
"Do you have a computer?" Irina asked.  
  
"In there." He pointed to a small room by the door. Sydney followed her in and watched as she typed furiously into the computer, but soon pounded on the keyboard in frustration.  
  
"They threw me out of the database. They knew I was hacking on and they threw me out of the system altogether. The only way to get into their mainframe is to get into it with their main computer. But that presents a problem." Irina said in a frustrated voice.  
  
"So in order to download their files we need to get into Covenant headquarters." Sydney said, catching on.  
  
"Yes, but we can't get to their headquarters without downloading their files." Irina pointed out. They sighed at the same time.  
  
"Well, not necessarily. If we got a Covenant agent to download files on their computer, it would still work, right?" Sydney asked.  
  
"No it'll work. But the problem is getting a Covenant agent to do it. It's just about pointless." Irina said.  
  
"You got that right. Stand up and put your hands behind your head." A man with a laser gun said as he pointed the gun to Irina and Sydney.  
  
A/N: I basically have an outline of how the other chapters are going, but it might take me awhile to update since my sister is hogging it again. But please R/R! I need feedback!!!!! 


	9. Can I Reach You

Disclaimer: If I owned Alias, then Lauren Reed would be somewhere in Antarctica, Francie would still be alive, Will would still be in the picture, and Irina would be back in the show! None of those things are in the show, so apparently I don't own it  
  
Melanie was sleeping in the corner farthest away from the door. She had been there for two days and so far she hadn't gotten anything to eat. She hadn't seen light which made her dread coming out. Her eyes wouldn't be able to stand seeing light for the first time in a while. Her stomach let out a loud grumble. She knew she was starting to digest her stomach, which wasn't a good feeling.  
  
Lauren hadn't been around to ask her what her name was yet, which surprised her because the first time she would come down once an hour. She amused herself and kept herself sane by daydreaming about her mother busting in here, rescuing her, and killing Lauren for kidnapping her. Melanie knew the CIA wasn't supposed to kill people just for the hell of it, but she had a feeling Lauren was on a Watch To Kill list. She was remembering the time she was four and her parents had taken her to Disneyland for her first time. That was probably the best day of her short life.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Flashback:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Mommy, can I go on Splash Mountain?" Melanie asked anxiously as they entered the park.  
  
"Are you sure you want to go down a five story waterfall?" her dad asked her.  
  
"That's why I want to go on it! You guys get to do fun stuff like that all the time! I want to do something fun!" she exclaimed happily, trying to drag Sydney to where she heard screams and laughter.  
  
Sydney laughed. "What we do isn't fun. But now isn't a work day. Now is a fun day, and it belongs to you." She said, letting her daughter drag her towards Splash Mountain. They got there in record time, getting into the line which stopped in the very last cave.  
  
"Why can't we skip all these people?" Melanie whined.  
  
"Because we don't have fast-track passes. We'll get them next time ok sweetie?" Sydney asked. Melanie nodded and waited impatiently for their turn to go into a log. When it was their turn, Melanie was basically jumping up and down.  
  
"Ready?" the attendant asked as he tried not to smile.  
  
"Yeah! Come on Daddy, it's going to be fun!" Melanie said as she motioned for Vaughn to sit behind her. She was sitting at the front of the log.  
  
"Well, have fun!" the attendant said and soon they were off. Melanie kept pointing out everyone she recognized and laughed when she saw Brer Bear's butt hanging out of something at the top of a waterslide. Sydney laughed as Melanie screamed as they went down the waterfall that led to the big one.  
  
"When are we getting to the really fun part?" Melanie asked Vaughn as the depressing music started.  
  
"That track leading upwards. Not long now Mel." Vaughn said. As they were going up the track, Melanie was suddenly struck by a wave of fear. "Daddy, I don't want to do this anymore!" she said, never feeling as scared as she was just then.  
  
"It'll be ok sweetheart. It only lasts about two seconds. Besides, once you go through it, you'll feel so grown up you'll want to go on it again." Vaughn said comforting her.  
  
"But I'm still scared! Hold my hand!" Melanie said and held out her hand.  
  
"Why don't I hold onto your shoulders? It'll be more comfortable for you." Vaughn said as they got to the top. As they went down, he held onto his daughter, knowing she'd want to go down it again. When they turned the corner Melanie started laughing.  
  
"You're right Daddy! That was fun! Let's go on again!" she said to him. "We will. But there's a lot other rides you'll want to go on." Vaughn said. He turned to Sydney, who smiled at him. Her jacket was covered with water and her hair was totally matted down to her head with water, but what did he expect? "Having fun?" he asked.  
  
"Is she?" Sydney replied.  
  
"Yeah she's fine. So what ride do you want to go on?" Vaughn asked her after they got off.  
  
"Whatever Melanie wants to go on. It's her day not mine." Sydney replied. When Disneyland closed and they were back at their house, Sydney went to put Melanie to bed. "So did you have a fun time?" she asked.  
  
Melanie nodded. "It was the best day of my life!" Melanie replied. "What ride was your favorite?" Sydney asked.  
  
"I don't have one. What was yours?" Melanie asked interestedly.  
  
"Don't have one either. But I don't want you staying up all night thinking about Disneyland. We'll go back sometime, but you need some sleep." Sydney told her. She sat down in the rocking chair and Melanie climbed into her lap. "Ready?" Syd asked her. Melanie nodded and they started singing the lullaby together. When they finished singing, Sydney leaned over and whispered, "You know who that song's for, don't you?"  
  
Melanie nodded. She always asked that every night so that they could always fit her into their night routine. "Molly." She said simply. Molly was Melanie's twin sister, but she died of heart failure when she was born. They had made it a point to sing a song in her honor ever since then. "I'm not going to leave you either, Mommy." Melanie always said to Sydney.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Flashback Ends~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Melanie wiped the tears from her eyes. Thinking of Disneyland and Splash Mountain couldn't end without a tear. She remembered telling her mother that she'd never leave her, and now she broke her promise. She could just picture Sydney when she realized she wasn't there, crying her eyes out because both Melanie and Molly were gone. But that was just it. She couldn't picture it, because it was too painful to think about.  
  
Would Molly be here with her if she was alive? Probably. She was Sydney's daughter too. But Melanie didn't have time to dwell on that subject much. For the first time in two days she heard footsteps which she knew was Lauren's. She had taught herself how to distinguish who was coming by their footsteps. It was a survival technique.  
  
Melanie waited and watched as Lauren stepped in and opened the door widely so that as much light as possible filled the room. Lauren watched as Melanie shielded her eyes and whimpered pathetically. Melanie knew she was waiting to see if she would do anything, but she wouldn't do anything except wait for Lauren.  
  
"What is your name?" Lauren finally asked.  
  
"Anna Reed. My name is Anna Reed, my mother is Lauren Reed and my father is Julian Sark. When I come of age I'm going to join the Covenant, and to prove myself I help out the Covenant when I can." Melanie answered, trying to sound empty and believable.  
  
Lauren stayed silent for a while longer, contemplating whether or not she was telling the truth, then grabbed Melanie's arm and pulled her towards the living room. When she was sitting on the sofa, Lauren took her cell phone and called her boss.  
  
"The deed is done." She said. Silence then, "I'm positive. She is Anna Reed. There is no doubt in my mind."  
  
More silence. Melanie knew something wasn't right from the way Lauren was looking at her. "Ok. She'll prove her worth. What is she to do?" she asked. The more the person on the other side talked, the bigger the smirk on Lauren's face. A smirk she only had when she was thinking about Melanie or her family. "Ok. We'll go over there, and you'll see." She said and hung up.  
  
She spent some time putting her cell phone back in her purse and grab a bottled water from the fridge before sitting on the sofa beside Melanie. Melanie remained quiet and waited for Lauren to speak before she did.  
  
Finally Lauren said, "We're going to Egypt. The Covenant has something they need you to do so that they'll think the same way that Mommy does."  
  
Melanie turned to her. "What am I going to do?" she asked.  
  
"My employer didn't want to say over the phone, but it will determine what he thinks. It'll put a sure answer in they're minds. So I want you to pack. We'll only be there for a day, but after we leave we're not coming here right away. So go to your room." Lauren said and pointed upstairs.  
  
Melanie did so and took out her suitcase and started stuffing as much stuff into it as possible. There was always the possibility of her parents coming and rescuing her and if they did, she wanted to be ready. When she stuffed all the things she'd regret leaving behind into her suitcase, she was about to put it near the front door, when she noticed something brown poking out from under her bed. She put the suitcase down and grabbed the brown thing.  
  
It was Brownie, the stuffed bear Vaughn had won for her at the fair when she was three. She had always refused to go anywhere without Brownie, and had had him when the Covenant had kidnapped her at the park. Lauren had taken it from her and hid him somewhere, saying that toys were too easy to get attached to, and she wasn't supposed to get attached to anything. Melanie had kicked and hit anyone who had tried to calm her down so that they could take her to the dark room, hating them for taking away her favorite thing in the world.  
  
When Melanie demanded to know where Brownie was, Lauren had told her that he was safe but she'd never see him again. And yet here he was, in Melanie's arms as if she had pushed him down there and was waiting for her to pick him up. Melanie opened her suitcase again and stuffed him into it, taking out a short pink skirt to make him fit. She wouldn't let Lauren and the Covenant take him from her again.  
  
When she got downstairs she put the suitcase by the door. After that she went into the kitchen and gratefully took the plate of macaroni and cheese Lauren had prepared for her and ate it in five minutes. She went back for fourths and when she was finished, she went upstairs to bed.  
  
The next morning Lauren pushed her and snapped at her to get up because they needed to leave. "There's a plane waiting for us about two miles from here. We need to leave before people see it. Get dressed in something dark!" she snapped. Melanie took the dark black shirt Sark had given her for her sixth birthday and a pair of black pants that used to be Lauren's when she was a kid and followed her out the front door. When they got there, Melanie went to the back of the plane and looked out the window until she felt the plane descending. She got out of the plane after Lauren and was greeted by McKenas Cole who was wearing an Armani suit and had his arms crossed. He didn't take his eyes off Melanie.  
  
"So you're the famous Anna Reed that everyone I see lately keeps talking about. You know, you're considered a celebrity among us. But tell me Anna. Do you think up all these incredible plans by yourself, or do you have Lauren and/or Sark help you? Because it wouldn't surprise me at all." He said.  
  
"Yes, I'm Anna Reed, and I come up with those plans by myself." Melanie said. She didn't add "Because my so-called mother makes me."  
  
"You know, that's impressive. You'd make a good agent for us, Anna. But I have some good news and bad news. The bad news is that I don't trust you. I don't think you are who you say you are. But the good news is that I'm giving you an opportunity to prove yourself to me, and to the rest who aren't sure yet." Cole said in the snide way Sark always talked to Lauren about.  
  
"Let's just go. Where are they exactly?" Lauren asked as she and Melanie got into the van Cole had arrived in.  
  
"A small house about five miles north. We'll get there soon enough." Cole replied and they sat the entire ride in awkward silence. When they stopped, Cole shoved a 3 millimeter gun into her arms. "Now, here's what you have to do. There are three two CIA agents in that building, one contact for those agents, and a woman that I don't have a clue as to who she works for, but she was found helping out the CIA, so I'm assuming she can't be trusted anyway. All you have to do is shoot one of those agents without remorse, and you'll have my trust as well as the rest of the Covenant's. Ready?" he said.  
  
Melanie glanced at the small dirty house and nodded. Cole talked into his comm and said, "Bring one of them out." To Melanie's horror, two Covenant agents dragged out an agent who looked oddly familiar. *Mommy!*, Melanie thought, almost dropping the gun and going over to her, but she caught herself just in time.  
  
"Remember what you have to do Anna. Just shoot this agent." Cole said and nudged her towards Sydney. Sydney was looking into her eyes, sobbing uncontrollably. How was she going to do this? How could she shoot her mother, and make her mother still be able to live? There was no way for Melanie to do this without crying. So she took the gun, aimed it at Sydney's left shoulder, and pulled the trigger.  
  
A/N: I wish I could've updated this yesterday since it was Jennifer Garner's birthday, but I was in a really bad mood and didn't have this typed. So please review, I need them! 


	10. If I Stand On A Star

Disclaimer: If I owned Alias, then Lauren Reed would be somewhere in Antarctica, Francie would still be alive, Will would still be in the picture, and Irina would be back in the show! None of those things are in the show, so apparently I don't own it  
  
Sydney clenched her bleeding shoulder with her free hand and watched as Lauren and McKenas Cole walked off with Melanie, who they called Anna. They brainwashed her. There was no other explanation as to why she would let those assholes manipulate her and make her answer to another name. The name of her old archenemy no less. Looking at her daughter two years later, saying she changed would be a lie. Her dark brown hair that used to go to her shoulders was now down to her waist. Her eyes were blank and dark. She looked so empty. So lost.  
  
She wasn't feeling betrayal though. She had a suspicion that Melanie had done exactly what Irina had done in Taipei the day she had seen her for the first time since she was six. As Lauren, Cole, and Melanie got into the van, Sydney heard Cole say, "Congratulations, Anna, you've past the final test."  
  
"Thanks." Melanie stated in a bored tone as Lauren pulled the door closed and drove off. The guard that had dragged her outside now kicked her in the stomach. "You mention today to anyone, everyone you've ever grown close to you will be dead. This is your warning. I'd think twice before trying to track down the Covenant again." He said and spat by her body. He went into the house, called the rest of the guards, then left.  
  
Slowly Syd got up and made her way back into the house, trying with as much strength in her to squeeze her shoulder and stop the bleeding. Jack and Irina were by her side instantly.  
  
"My god Sydney, what happened?" Jack demanded as the contact went to get a first aid kit.  
  
"I was shot. By Melanie." Sydney said. Jack looked at her intently. "Melanie? Melanie was right outside this door? And she shot you?" he asked incredulously.  
  
"Yes. McKenas Cole and Lauren were there too. Cole and Lauren called her Anna and kept saying something about proving herself to them. Then she turned to me, looked me in the eye, and shot me in the shoulder. They left right after." She told him.  
  
"Did you check the license plate?" Jack asked.  
  
"No. The other guards kicked me to the ground, making sure I didn't see anything that would lead me to them. He told me to stop looking for evidence to bring down the Covenant. He'll kill people I care about. Melanie will be the first. Dad, maybe we should just give up. We can find Melanie and the Covenant another way." She said.  
  
Jack looked like he was being betrayed. "You're just going to give up? Tell me something. Would Melanie ever give up looking for you? She needs you Sydney, whether she expresses it or not, she needs you. The Covenant is planning something absolutely cruel; something they need Melanie for. And as soon as they have what they want and Melanie's used up her purpose, they will kill her. And for all we know, that could be tomorrow, or the next day, or the next week. She's counting on you Sydney. You're her mother." He told her.  
  
"But she looked so emotionless. She looked...like she wanted to shoot me. Like she wanted to please Lauren and Cole. Dad...what if the Covenant has gotten so deep inside her that she really thinks she's Anna?" she asked.  
  
"Then you're just going to convince her who she really is, but I doubt you'll have to. Remember Project Christmas? We did that on her to protect her in case something like this happened. Project Christmas helped you remember you were Sydney Bristow when the Covenant wanted you to believe you were Julia Thorne. They're doing the same thing. They want Melanie to believe she's Anna something rather than Melanie Bristow, and I believe she's putting on a show for the Covenant so that they won't kill her, and that one day you can get to her, or she can get to you. Don't let a couple of naïve guards scare you into giving up on your daughter. Melanie needs you." Jack said.  
  
Irina came back later and treated her shoulder, looking at the injury as if she was interested in it. When she was finished, Sydney followed her into the living room. "Mom, what are you thinking?" she asked.  
  
"Melanie wasn't brainwashed. If the Covenant brainwashed her successfully, she would've shot you in the head or the heart. The Covenant teaches their recruits to shoot in the places where you'll die on impact. She shot you in the shoulder and did the same thing to you as I did in Taipei." Irina told her. Sydney's heart skipped a beat.  
  
"Then why did she shoot me in the shoulder making the Covenant satisfied?" Syd asked.  
  
"Because they didn't want you to die. They want you to be intimidated by Melanie. They want you to think they succeeded in brainwashing Melanie. Shooting you was a test to prove whether she was a traitor or not." Irina told her.  
  
Sydney considered this. It was probable. Project Christmas worked on her. There was a chance that it worked on Melanie too. So Sydney nodded and stood up. "How are we going to find where they took Melanie?" she asked.  
  
Irina went to her contact. "Do you have surveillance cameras around the house?" she asked him.  
  
"Yes." The contact said.  
  
"Do you have any surveillance at the front of the house?" Irina asked.  
  
"What kind of man would I be if I didn't? I'll go get the tape." He said and went down the narrow hallway and into the last room on the right. He returned a minute later holding a tape. He went to the TV in the living room and put it in and fastforwarded it to the part with the van pulling up.  
  
They saw Cole get out first, followed by Lauren and two other Covenant agents. Melanie was last. Cole leaned in towards Melanie and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and Cole talked into a comm, and that was when Sydney was dragged out. They watched as Melanie looked over her mother, hesitating slightly, but only for about two seconds before she aimed, and fired in her shoulder. After that, the Covenant agents and Melanie got into the van and drove off.  
  
"Pause it here!" Irina ordered. The contact hit the pause button immediately and Irina grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down the license plate. "Ok, I think we got them. All we have to do now is put into a tracking system, and it should tell us where the van is now, which will get us closer to Melanie, and taking down the Covenant." Irina said. Sydney's heart soared. They were finally going to have Melanie back, and bring the Covenant to an end for good!  
  
A/N: Sorry it's so short, but I don't feel good, and I have writer's block. Any suggestions you have I'll put them under consideration! ^__^ 


	11. Can We Touch

Disclaimer: If I owned Alias, then Lauren Reed would be somewhere in Antarctica, Francie would still be alive, Will would still be in the picture, and Irina would be back in the show! None of those things are in the show, so apparently I don't own it  
  
Melanie looked out her window, thinking about the lullaby. It had played over and over inside her head after she shot her mother in the shoulder. She hoped it hadn't killed her, but if it had, she'd be with Molly. But Melanie really doubted that it had killed her. No one could die by being shot in the shoulder unless too much blood was lost.  
  
She tried not to gag as she watched Lauren stare at Cole with a mixture of love and admiration. Like she was amazed by him, but Melanie couldn't figure out how. He was ugly, an ego-maniac, and just downright weird. Why would she like someone like him? Maybe it was because he fit her description so well. Melanie had to conceal a grin at that thought. Nothing could be more true.  
  
"So Anna. How did you feel after you shot that agent?" Cole suddenly asked.  
  
"Nothing." Melanie lied.  
  
"No remorse? No regret?" Cole asked, studying her carefully in the rearview mirror.  
  
Melanie shook her head. "I felt nothing. Where are we going?" she asked, trying to sound like Lauren.  
  
Cole scowled. "Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies dear child. You'll see when we get there. Right now you need to rest. Chances are, you'll need your strength." He said. Melanie caught the smirk Lauren had as he said this.  
  
Melanie pretended to fall asleep, hoping they'd talk freely. It worked. "So you're not even going to inform her of what's waiting for her in Munich?" Lauren asked him.  
  
"Well, I figure, why set her up for disappointment? I tell her why we're going to Munich, she gets all anxious and absolutely impossible to live with. It's better for all of us if we don't tell her. Besides. She'll see soon enough." Cole said. Lauren nodded. Melanie almost screamed with frustration. He wouldn't even tell say when she was sleeping! But there wasn't anything she could do about it now. Cole was right. She'd see when they got to Munich.  
  
"I'm going to check us into a hotel. If we don't get some sleep, we'll be likely to get into a crash, and that's the last thing we need." Cole said as he pulled into the parking lot of a Days Inn.  
  
Melanie had the impression Lauren wanted to object, but she didn't have a say in what Cole did almost as much as Melanie did. So she sighed, snapped at Melanie to get up, and followed him to the lobby.  
  
"Hello miss. I'm Thomas Brendall, and this is my wife Trista and daughter Anna. We're just looking for a room to sleep in for the night, and we'll be back on the road." Cole said, smiling at the clerk.  
  
"Ok. Room 204. You only need two beds, correct?" the clerk asked. Melanie almost laughed right there. McKenas Cole and Lauren Reed sleeping in the same bed? That was disgusting, but what could they do about it.  
  
"Yes, but could we have some extra pillows? Anna tends to get restless without at least four pillows." Cole said. Melanie gave the clerk a fake sky smile. The clerk returned it then said, "Yes of course. I'll get Joanna to get those for you."  
  
"Thank you, you're great." Cole said, paid, took the key, then made his way to 204, followed by Lauren and Melanie. Joanna came by to give them the extra pillows a minute after they got there. Melanie got into the second bed and watched as Cole and Lauren put the pillows in between them. They were pathetic.  
  
"We're getting up at two so we can get there early. Get as much sleep as possible, you're going to need it, Anna." Cole said with a stern face. Melanie nodded and climbed into her bed. Where were they going, and why did it matter? She wished she was old enough to be in the loophole. That way if she ever figured out a way to contact the CIA, she could be a double agent for them, and tell them what the Covenant was doing. Too bad she couldn't contact the CIA, and too bad if she did, she would be killed.  
  
She fell asleep with that thought in her head. She woke up too early by Lauren who told her in a harsh whisper to get dressed and make the bed just in case the CIA figured out where they were. They didn't want to be traced back to the hotel. Melanie nodded although she didn't want to. Cole was typing madly at his laptop, sighing or smirking every now and then, which didn't put Melanie in a comfortable feeling. She dressed in a black blouse and baggy black pants and put her hair in a bun. When she was finished she saw Cole motion to her to go to him.  
  
"When we get to where we're going, you're going to meet someone. Don't be alarmed at what they look like, because if you do, it could cost you your life. They're going to be your partner for missions and whatever you need to do. You're no longer going to be working by yourself anymore." Cole said like they were getting ready to go to a baseball game.  
  
"Ok." Melanie said, wanting to ask more about her new partner. She had tons of questions but she had a feeling she'd know all the answers as soon as she met the person. "We need to go. Snake's found a signal. The CIA's coming." Lauren said, turning off the lights.  
  
"What's their ETA?" Cole asked angrily.  
  
"About ten minutes. That's barely enough time if we move now!" Lauren ushered them to the van. Melanie got in, looking in every direction for any sign of the CIA, but found none.  
  
"Are they by airplane, or by vehicle?" Cole asked as he started the van and pulled out of the driveway.  
  
"He doesn't know, but either way, they'll be here." Lauren said. Melanie flew backward as Cole slammed down on the accelerator. They were soon going eighty miles an hour, but no one took any notice. They soon reached an empty lot with tons of wood everywhere.  
  
"Come, Anna. We're getting off here." Lauren said. Cole stopped the van and they got out where Melanie soon saw a small aircraft on the ground, and Snake in the cockpit.  
  
They were boarded soon enough and Snake got the aircraft off the ground and into the sky. They spent ten hours in the aircraft, and by this time Melanie felt ready to die. She hated spending half a day sitting, and then being expected to run for twenty miles doing some important thing for the Covenant and being expected to succeed.  
  
She sighed with relief when Snake stopped the aircraft at an airport and they got out. They were greeted by a man in an Armani suit. He was wearing sunglasses and looked like the Secret Service.  
  
"You Ms. Reed and Mr. Cole?" the man asked, taking no notice of Melanie. "Yes." Lauren replied. The man nodded and said, "Follow me." In German. They did, making small talk in German so they wouldn't seem out of place to other people.  
  
When they got out of the airport the man opened the door of a limo where Melanie, Cole, and Lauren got in. The Armani man instantly got into chauffer mode, put on the black hat and started driving to an undisclosed location. They stopped at a ten-story building. The Armani man led them to the seventh story and into a room with two beds, a dresser and a small closet.  
  
"Anna, this will be your new room. Along with your roommate who will also be your new partner. Her name is Elizabeth." Cole said, then nodded his head to the Armani man. He nodded and left the room. He returned a minute later, watching behind him where a small girl stood. Her head hung and she was looking at her feet.  
  
"Elizabeth, this is your new partner Anna Reed. Anna, this is Elizabeth Sark." Cole said. The girl lifted her head, and Melanie almost gasped in surprise. There, standing before her, was a girl who looked exactly like her in everyway. There, looking at her with the biggest poker face she'd ever seen, was her twin, Molly Bristow.  
  
A/N: I'm really depressed! I haven't received a review in five days! Please review, or there will be no chapter 12! 


	12. Way Up High On A Cloud

Disclaimer: If I owned Alias, then Lauren Reed would be somewhere in Antarctica, Francie would still be alive, Will would still be in the picture, and Irina would be back in the show! None of those things are in the show, so apparently I don't own it  
  
A/N: Chapter 12! I'm not depressed anymore. There will be other chapters too, so don't worry. I won't stop posting until the story's complete, and then I might write a sequel, but I don't know how the story will end yet. So I won't stop.  
  
"You two get to know each other, because you'll be seeing a lot of each other. Snake will call you down for dinner." Cole said, but Melanie barely heard him. Molly kept her poker face until Lauren, Cole, Snake, and the Armani man left then scowled at Melanie.  
  
"What's your problem? Why are you looking at me like that?" she snapped and sat down on the bed closest to the door.  
  
Melanie stared at her in shock. How did she not see the resemblance? "Don't you even want to know..." she started, but Molly cut her off.  
  
"Shut up and follow me to the bathroom!" she said and opened the door she came through and went the first one on the left. After Melanie was in she closed and locked the door.  
  
"Melanie! Melanie, it's me!" Molly said, switching her annoyed look to a look of happiness. "What are you talking about? Don't you hate me?" she asked, becoming extremely confused.  
  
"No! I had to do that! They have small little surveillance cameras in that room so they can keep tabs on what we say and do. If I called you 'Melanie' and told you my name was Molly, what do you think they'd do, just let us keep doing that? No, they're watching and listening to see how I treat you and how you treat me. We need to be careful." Molly explained.  
  
"Don't they have cameras in here?" Melanie asked. Molly shook her head. "They value privacy. Besides, they don't want to watch two little girls taking showers and using the toilet, do they?" Molly said and giggled.  
  
Melanie grinned, not sure what to say. How was she supposed to act around this girl? She remembered her parents telling her how she used to have a twin sister, but she died at the hospital of heart failure. And now, here her sister was, alive and perfectly healthy, laughing with her at a joke.  
  
"Didn't you die?" Melanie asked, looking at her questioningly. Molly giggled harder.  
  
"If I died, would I be here? Unless I was a ghost. I don't look like a ghost do I?" she asked, then looked at herself in the mirror.  
  
"I still have a reflection. Guess I'm not dead." She said and shrugged like it was no big deal.  
  
"But Mommy and Daddy said...you died." Melanie whispered.  
  
Molly stopped laughing and looked at Melanie sympathetically. "They think I am dead. Listen, it's a long story and if we stay in here much longer they're going to come up and wonder what we're doing. I'll tell you everything later. Oh yeah, one more thing. I need to make this convincing, so I'm really sorry about this Mel." Molly said and punched her forcefully in the eye.  
  
She kicked her once in the stomach then whispered, "Sorry." And left the bathroom.  
  
"Shit!" Sydney muttered when she realized they had gotten away with Melanie again. She watched in anger as Cole, Lauren, and Melanie got on the aircraft that carried them away from her yet again.  
  
"Why are they always one step ahead of us?" Sydney asked desperately.  
  
"Don't worry, we'll get them." Irina assured her.  
  
"How? How are we going to get them when we have nothing left to go on? We had the license number for that van, and now we don't have that anymore. How can we possibly get them?" Sydney asked disbelievingly.  
  
"Time will tell Sydney. Where there's a will, there's a way, and with these bastards, there's definitely a will. So here's what we'll do. We'll go back to LA and get a remote modem. I'll get into their hard drive, and we'll download all the shit we can. There's got to be something in there that will tell us why they need Melanie. And, more importantly, where she is." Irina said.  
  
She and Jack looked at Sydney expectantly, so Sydney nodded, at a loss for what else to do. "Good. We'll find her Syd, don't worry. Soon this nightmare will be over, and she'll be yours again." Irina soothed, going into mother mode.  
  
"Ok." Sydney breathed, and they got back in their unmarked van and drove back to the airport where they boarded a plane to LA.  
  
"Elizabeth, what is the meaning of this? You two are going to be partners. The last thing you need is a partner with fractured ribs and can't do her job because of it. You need to get along with Anna." Hans scolded Molly in German.  
  
Molly was looking at the floor again, feeling terrible that she had done that to her sister. She had felt sure that they'd be pleased that she had beaten Melanie, but they had been the exact opposite of pleased. They were infuriated. So now she had to receive the lecturing and scolding of her German handler, Hans Weinler.  
  
"But why do I have to have a partner? I've been doing just fine by myself!" Molly argued.  
  
"What's done is done. Besides, two heads are better than one; you can get a lot more accomplished with two people. Besides, the CIA was onto Anna and her mother. They had to move where they'd never find them. It's better this way, and you'd better get used to it." Hans said. Molly sighed.  
  
"Where's Daddy? He's supposed to be back by now!" Molly snapped, trying to get back in her bratty character. That was who they expected her to be.  
  
"He's a little tied up at the moment dear. He will be back soon, but that's beside the point. Can I count on you to keep your hands to yourself, and not go punching Anna because it's fun? You know what will happen if you do it again. I don't think I have to remind you." Hans said in a threatening tone.  
  
Molly gave an exasperated sigh, but nodded. Hans smiled and said, "That's my Lizzie. Go up and apologize to Anna. Snake's just about finished with dinner, so go get Anna, apologize, and come back down."  
  
Molly ran upstairs and almost cried as she saw Melanie hunched over on her bed, rubbing her now bruised stomach. "Come on Anna, dinner's ready. And I'm sorry for what I did in the bathroom. I have to learn to contain my temper." She muttered, hoping that was convincing enough to whoever was watching and listening in on their conversation.  
  
Melanie nodded, and struggled to get up. "What are we having?" she asked.  
  
"I don't know, Hans never tells me until we sit down, but since it's Wednesday, I think it's vegetable soup and turkey sandwiches. That's what Hans makes, I don't know about Snake." Molly replied as they went downstairs. Melanie nodded and they eventually made it to the dining room.  
  
Molly tucked her napkin in her shirt and motioned for Melanie to do the same. She did, and Molly waited for Snake and the cook Zoe to come out. Snake came out a minute later who sat down and eyed Melanie every so often, making Molly want to slap him.  
  
Zoe came out of the kitchen carrying a large pot. She poured some soup in Molly's bowl, than Melanie's. After she filled everyone's bowls she came out and put the turkey sandwiches on everyone's plates.  
  
After dinner Molly waited until Hans dismissed her, wanting very badly to take her sister into the bathroom again so they could talk, but for some reason he didn't. Instead he said, "Ok girls, are you ready to go on your first mission together?"  
  
Molly and Melanie looked at each other then back at Hans. "I guess so. But I still don't see why I need a partner." Molly replied rudely.  
  
"Well, you better get used to it because this isn't temporary. Ms. Reed and Mr. Cole are waiting in the living room to fill you in. You two may go." Hans said, dismissing them. The sisters went into the living room together where Lauren and Cole were sitting on the sofas in the living room, waiting for them.  
  
"Ah, here they are. Girls, tomorrow you two will be going to Florence Italy. The Covenant has come across some intel that suggests there's a new disc with some heavy duty info on the CIA that could make all the difference in our downfall or not. Now, naturally the CIA's going to try and get the disc as well, and that's perfectly understandable. They'll want to keep any info they have on themselves to themselves. But for all the lives and bodies the Covenant protects, they must not get the disc that will lead to our end." Cole informed them.  
  
"Yeah, but why does there have to be two of us?" Molly asked.  
  
"Because in order to get into the building, you need two people to access any of the doors or windows." Lauren answered.  
  
"You two leave tonight. Go get ready." Cole said, and they headed upstairs, suddenly aware of what they were up against.  
  
A/N: Review please!!!!!! I need feedback!!!!!!!! 


	13. Will My Eyes Be Allowed

Disclaimer: If I owned Alias, then Lauren Reed would be somewhere in Antarctica, Francie would still be alive, Will would still be in the picture, and Irina would be back in the show! None of those things are in the show, so apparently I don't own it  
  
"Here we are girls. Remember what you have to do. But do not fail! You are warned." Cole said as he pulled up to the house. Melanie and Molly got out after they put on their ski masks. Lauren handed them their guns and they drove off.  
  
"Do you remember the password?" Molly asked as they got up to the two doors that were about three feet apart from each other.  
  
"Mine is almond and yours is cluster. Come on!" Melanie said as she urged her twin to the other door. She went to her own and pressed the large green button and said almond into it. She heard Molly's voice say "Cluster!" at the same time and the two doors opened automatically. They raced into the building.  
  
"I'll go upstairs. You go downstairs." Melanie said. Molly nodded and said, "I'll call you if I find it." And they headed their separate ways.  
  
Melanie went up the stairs as fast as her little legs could carry her, knowing the CIA was in the building with them and that they could've found the disc already. She opened the first door she came across and moved every piece of furniture she could afford to get rid of.  
  
"Snowbear, do you remember what the disc looked like?" Melanie said into her comm.  
  
"It's a medium sized floppy disc, and it will say 'Dangerous Grounds' on it. It will most likely be wrapped in a piece of plastic, so basically look for that." Molly replied instantly, and Melanie heard a large CRASH! In the background.  
  
"Snowbird, are you ok?" Melanie asked, but Molly didn't reply. "Snowbird, do you copy?" Melanie snapped in her comm.  
  
"Firefly, do not go after her, I repeat do not go after her! That is an order! She can take care of herself!" Cole said into Melanie's comm., but Melanie barely heard him over the pounding her feet made on the metal stairs. She lost Molly once, she wasn't going to lose her again!  
  
"Let go of me!" Melanie heard Molly's desperate cry in the first basement door. Melanie reached for her gun and took no hesitation in firing Molly's attacker in the back. He dropped to the ground, leaving a stunned Molly looking from him to Melanie.  
  
"Thanks Anna!" Molly said and went to hug her, but stopped herself in time. "The CIA's here already, that was them. I'll search this guy and see if he had the disc. I'll call you if he does. Go!" Molly told her. Melanie nodded and went back upstairs.  
  
A minute later her comm went off. "Firefly, negative on the disc." Molly told her. "Copy." Melanie said and sighed as she continued searching. After searching all possible locations Melanie came to the conclusion that unless there was no disc and that this was a set-up, or Molly had the disc, it was in the locked file cabinets in the corner of the last room at the top of the building.  
  
She reached in the lining of her jacket and took out her lock pick and picked at all the locks. After searching the entire cabinet twice, she came to the terrible conclusion that the CIA already had the discs. It would explain why there weren't any more other people besides her and Molly.  
  
"Snowbear, the disc is not here." Melanie finally said into her comm. "Copy that. Heading out." Molly replied. Melanie heard Cole yell, "Shit!" in the van as soon as they said the disc was not there. She didn't want to go back to Cole, but what choice did she have?  
  
She made her way back to the van and pulled off her ski mask as soon as the door was safely shut behind her. "Why didn't you get the disc? Were we mumbling when we said get the disc by all means necessary?" Cole barked as he started the van.  
  
"When we got there the CIA was already there. They had a good ten minutes to look before we showed up." Molly said defensively.  
  
"Well, then there's only one thing left to do. Retrieve the disc from the CIA." Cole said. Molly and Melanie looked at each other. They had been afraid of this. Infiltrating the CIA just to get some stupid disc that the Covenant wanted to the point of needing it to breathe.  
  
When they got back to Munich, Cole went to prepare the mission to L.A. to retrieve the disc and the twins went to their room, glad to lay down. "Do you think it's a good idea to go to L.A. to get the disc?" Melanie asked as soon as the door was closed.  
  
"I don't know. It could just be a setup." Molly said. Melanie contemplated this. Maybe there was nothing on the disc, but the CIA was using it as a way to get to the Covenant. They knew the Covenant wanted that disc more than they wanted Rimbaldi artifacts, and the CIA was using it to their advantage.  
  
"You're probably right. But what choice do we have?" Melanie said. Molly sighed, knowing Melanie was right. Their lives were out of their hands and they had no say in what they did.  
  
That night wasn't a good night for the sisters. They both tossed and turned in their beds, afraid that they'd be shaken awake at any moment by Lauren, telling them they needed to go to L.A. to get the disc at that moment. For some reason, Melanie and Molly feared that happening. When they did wake up, it was around nine, and the smell of bacon was making it's way to the twins.  
  
"Come on Anna! Hans is making his famous bacon!" Molly said excitedly and made her way downstairs. Melanie only stirred and rolled over. She was too tired to even think about food. But apparently she didn't have a say in that either. Lauren came in a moment later and pulled the covers off her.  
  
"Sweetie, you must get something to eat, you'll need it. You and Elizabeth are going to L.A. tonight, and you need your strength." She said in a motherly voice. Melanie got up and went downstairs where she saw Molly eating away at the bacon while Hans and Cole talked privately to themselves. "What's happening?" Melanie whispered to Molly as she sat down.  
  
"We're going to L.A. tonight to get the disc. They're just talking it over." Molly shrugged and helped herself to more bacon. Melanie took a bite and felt like she wanted to puke. Apparently this was one of those things you were supposed to get used to.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Ok girls, you know what to do. And no failures this time!" Cole ordered and Molly and Melanie got out again and quietly opened the door.  
  
"Where would it be this time?" Melanie muttered.  
  
"In the analysis room. The CIA always takes things they find on missions and send it to analysis." Molly explained.  
  
"How do you know that?" Melanie asked, looking at her sister intently.  
  
Molly hesitated, looking like she was afraid of something, then finally said, "I just do. But we have to hurry, we don't have a lot of time!"  
  
They started down the hallway and came across Sark's cell. Molly looked at him then after she realized who it was, ran over to him.  
  
"Daddy!" she said, reaching her arms out to try to hug him through the bars.  
  
"Hello Elizabeth. And I see you have your new partner. Hello Anna. Long time no see." He said. Melanie wanted to glare at him, but instead she gave a polite smile. "Hi Mr. Sark." She said.  
  
"Daddy, do you know where the analysis room is?" Molly asked him. "Yes, top floor, third door on the left. It has a big sign on the door that says, ANALYSIS. You can't miss it." Sark said. "Thanks!" Molly said and they went to the staircase and went to analysis.  
  
When they got there, they were stunned to discover Sydney standing there, waiting for them. 


	14. To See The Smile I Miss So Much

Disclaimer: If I owned Alias, then Lauren Reed would be somewhere in Antarctica, Francie would still be alive, Will would still be in the picture, and Irina would be back in the show! None of those things are in the show, so apparently I don't own it  
  
A/N: I need reviews! I've been in a lot of trouble lately and I know this sounds crazy, but reviews make me feel tons better! Please review!!!  
  
Sydney stood in the analysis room, hoping her mother was right; that the Covenant was desperate enough to get this disc that they'd send Melanie to get it, and when she did, Sydney could grab her and take Melanie back to her and Vaughn and make the Covenant realize what they were doing wouldn't work.  
  
But Irina hadn't mentioned anything about two people coming into the room to retrieve the disc. She knew one of the girls was Melanie, but who was the other girl? They both tried to run out the door, but Sydney said, in a shaky voice, "It locks automatically. I have the only key."  
  
The girls turned around. "Take off your masks." Sydney said, almost to the point of tears. They hesitated, then one of them finally did, and Sydney was relieved to find Melanie behind one of them.  
  
"Melanie! Melanie, it's me!" she said desperately, to the point of tears, but the girl didn't respond to her. "Melanie honey, what's wrong?" Syd asked.  
  
The girl started to cry and finally said, "I'm n-not M-Melanie!"  
  
Sydney was shocked. How could she not be Melanie? She had Melanie's face, she was the same age, same height, same...everything.  
  
"I am, Mommy." The other girl spoke out, and when she took off her mask, Sydney knew she spoke the truth. The second girl was Sydney's Melanie. They hugged like they'd never let go. "I missed you so much Mommy!" Melanie cried in Sydney's chest (she was too small to reach her shoulder).  
  
"I missed you too, Melly Belly." Sydney said, calling her by the nickname she and Vaughn always used. They stayed in their tight hug until Sydney noticed the other girl shift her weight, looking very uncomfortable.  
  
"M-Melanie, who's th-this?" Sydney asked, although she had a suspicion she knew who it was. But it wasn't possible, was it? It couldn't be... "Mommy, this is Molly. You're other daughter." Melanie said like she was introducing a friend to her mother for the first time.  
  
Molly and Sydney both looked at each other for a while then, at the same time, ran to each other and embraced one another in a hug.  
  
"Molly, how did you survive?" Sydney asked more to herself than to Molly.  
  
"I'll tell you when we see Mich—I mean Daddy." Molly told her. Sydney nodded, not noticing the slip Molly almost made.  
  
"Snowbear, Firefly, do you read me? Do you two have the disc or not?" Cole's angry voice interrupted the reunion.  
  
"Oh god, we forgot! Cole's expecting a disc. We had to go to Florence, Italy to get it." Melanie told Syd.  
  
"Ok, you two go to the debriefing room. It's downstairs, and when you turn right you'll be in a huge room with desks and nonstop ringing phones. Just go in circles until you see a sign on the door that says DEBRIEFING on it. Hide there until I get back. Go!" she ushered them out the door.  
  
"Where will you be?" Melanie asked desperately, obviously not in the mood to lose her mother again.  
  
"I'll get you when it's safe. No doubt Cole and whoever else is there will come in and investigate. If you two are valuable to them in any way, they won't want to lose you. But if they do get in to the debriefing room, do whatever is necessary to take them down, but I'll be patrolling the entire place so they don't get to you. Now go, we've already wasted time!" Sydney said.  
  
This time the twins didn't hesitate. Sydney wiped the tears from her face and put on her I'm-gonna-kill-whoever-tries-to-take-my-daughters-away- from-me-again face and went to the doors, waiting for the Covenant to come so she could kill all the agents that tried to get in her way.  
  
A/N: Review! I'm back on the computer, and hopefully it'll stay that way for a while so I'll be able to update my stories, especially this one. I love this story more than I thought I would. And it's not over yet, even though Sydney has Melanie and Molly. So stay tuned for more!! ^__^ 


	15. Hear us Hear us As Time Passes By

Disclaimer: If I owned Alias, then Lauren Reed would be somewhere in Antarctica, Francie would still be alive, Will would still be in the picture, and Irina would be back in the show! None of those things are in the show, so apparently I don't own it  
  
A/N: My spirits are lifted!! My life changed the minute I watched the commercial for the season finale. When Vaughn says "I hate you! I love Sydney!" OMG, I'll never get over it!!  
  
Melanie and Molly huddled under a desk. Molly was trying so hard to conceal the tears that desperately wanted to come out. She had spent her whole life doing missions, not being appreciated or loved. Being used by the Covenant just so they could get what they wanted. Molly had finally convinced herself that her parents would never come, and she'd spend her whole life working for the Covenant, being taken advantage of. Never knowing her real family.  
  
Now, having met the sister she never thought she'd ever see, she met her mother for the first time. And now, her mother was risking her life to keep her daughters safe from the Covenant so they'd never use them again. Molly felt that the feeling of being safe and loved would just be a memory. One good feeling in the midst of all the bad.  
  
But at least she had Melanie. Melanie knew what it felt like too. "Melanie?" Molly breathed, not managing to even whisper.  
  
"Yeah?" Melanie said, looking behind her to see if Sydney was in the center of the Rotunda.  
  
"I'm afraid of losing Mommy and Daddy again." Molly admitted.  
  
"We won't. From what I remember of Mommy, she's very strong and won't go down without a fight. She'll be here." Melanie comforted her, and Molly nodded, but her sister didn't understand.  
  
She didn't understand what it was like living without her parents. Without the love Melanie received for the first four years of her life. Suddenly, without warning, they heard Sydney scream, "Get off me, they aren't here!"  
  
Melanie started to go and help Sydney, but Molly stopped her. "Don't make it easy for them. Mommy wouldn't want you to leave. Besides, it'll expose us!" she warned her.  
  
Melanie hesitated, but nodded, knowing her twin was right. So she sat back down, looking, for the first time Molly had seen, scared. And that scared Molly. If her sister wasn't not afraid, how could she be brave? That answer came when they heard a heavy thud, and Sydney's desperate cry of pain.  
  
"Mommy!" Melanie wailed and started to get up again, but Molly grabbed her arm.  
  
"Be strong. Mommy would want us to be strong." Molly said, but Melanie shook her head.  
  
"She's in trouble. She needs our help. I'm not going to sit around and do nothing, and turn out they killed her. I won't let that happen." Melanie said in a threatening voice. Molly knew she wasn't kidding. So she let go of her arm, and Melanie ran to the door.  
  
Molly followed her, and wanted to cry at what she saw. Sydney's nose was bleeding, she had a black eye that was swollen shut, was clutching her right arm with her left, letting Molly know that it was broken. She could tell there were bruises all over her body. She was slipping in and out of consciousness. From her face, Molly concluded that she also had a concussion.  
  
"Mommy, don't fall asleep! Stay awake!" Melanie urged, shaking Sydney's body slightly to keep her awake. To Molly's horror, Cole, Lauren, and Sark appeared out of nowhere.  
  
"Anna. Elizabeth. I'm shocked at you two. Helping the CIA." Cole spat. Molly froze, afraid to breathe, but to her surprise, Melanie stood up and said, "Yeah that's right. Helping the CIA bring people like you to justice."  
  
Sydney started to fall asleep again, and Molly rushed over to her. "Mommy, stay awake!" she whispered desperately, praying Cole, Lauren, and Sark didn't hear her, but she didn't have that luck.  
  
"Elizabeth, what did you say? She's not your mother, I'm your mother." Lauren said in a hurt voice.  
  
"Save it. You're not our mother. You never were, you never will be, and soon, you'll realize kidnapping my sister and me was the first mistake you made that led to your downfall!" Melanie snapped.  
  
"Now Anna, apparently the atmosphere is getting to you. I think you need to lay down." Lauren said in a fake gentle voice, but Molly noticed that she also sounded scared. Scared and worried about what Cole would do to her when he realized Melanie and her weren't successfully brainwashed.  
  
"She...doesn't need...to lay down. She's...telling you...the truth." Sydney interrupted, her eyes rolling in and out.  
  
Cole started to go towards Sydney, but Melanie stuck her foot out at the last second and tripped him.  
  
"Lay a hand on my mommy, and consider yourself the newest member of the deepest circle of Hell." Melanie said threateningly. Cole just started laughing, like he was amused by Melanie's threats.  
  
"Ok, I won't lay a hand on her. But I can't promise you I'll lay a bullet in her skull!" Cole chuckled, and nodded to Sark, who took out a small handgun, aimed at Sydney's head, and pulled the trigger.  
  
A/N: Don't assume the worst! There's more to this story this isn't the end! Someone needs to call ABC and tell them to stop delaying airing Alias. Some of us need to watch it to fill our addiction!! They're frustrating :( 


	16. We Still Love You

Disclaimer: If I owned Alias, then Lauren Reed would be somewhere in Antarctica, Francie would still be alive, Will would still be in the picture, and Irina would be back in the show! None of those things are in the show, so apparently I don't own it  
  
The last thing she heard was a gunshot. The last thing she remembered was McKenas Cole, Julian Sark, and Lauren Reed standing around her and her two daughters (she never thought she'd be able to say that sentence again!) and trying to get Melanie and Molly to go back with them.  
  
Melanie was standing up to the three most dangerous members of the Covenant with such bravery, Sydney would've told her she was proud of her if she had the strength. She would've told both of them she was proud of them, but before she knew it, she had passed out.  
  
Now, as she opened her eyes slowly, she tried looking around to see where she was, but it was hard considering the light that went through her eyes made her head feel like it was under a pile of bricks. But she was able to see enough to know she was in a hospital.  
  
She also could distinguish three people in the room with her. "Grandpa, Marcus, Mommy's awake!" one of the twins said (sadly she didn't know which one).  
  
The next thing Syd knew, she was being surrounded by Jack, Dixon, and one of her daughters.  
  
"Where's the other one?" she asked worriedly, glancing around her just in case she was hiding.  
  
"She's in the kid's section. Sydney, what happened at the Rotunda?" Jack asked.  
  
"I already told you Grandpa!" either Melanie or Molly said. Sydney didn't know which one.  
  
"Yes Melanie, I know, but I need your mother to tell it in her own words. Sydney, can you tell us anything?" Jack asked, looking as concerned as Sydney had ever seen her.  
  
"Why is Molly in the kid's section of the hospital?" Syd asked, totally oblivious to the questions the CIA asked her.  
  
"Well, she was shot. She took the bullet that almost killed you." Dixon told her. Sydney's heart stopped. Sark shot Molly and not her?  
  
"That bastard." Sydney muttered under her breath.  
  
"We're looking into it. They'll be caught eventually." Jack assured her, but Sydney interrupted him.  
  
"Catch who? Sark, Lauren, and McKenas Cole were in the Rotunda! They were right there! How did you possibly not get them?" she asked incredulously. Jack and Dixon sighed at the same time.  
  
"We got there a second too late. After they attempted to take your life, they ran out of the Rotunda and left just as we got there. Seeing you, Molly, and Melanie all on the floor, taking care of you became our first priority. But you telling us what happened could lead us to them faster." Jack said.  
  
Sydney sighed heavily to let them know she was annoyed, then told them the story, leaving out the part about how she said if they left her daughters alone, she'd let them walk out without telling the CIA they were here. When she was finished, Jack and Dixon looked pleased.  
  
"Thank you Sydney. Hopefully your story will help bring these criminals to justice." Dixon said, and he and Jack started to leave the room when Sydney said, "Wait."  
  
They turned around and looked at her expectantly, like she had more to add. "I want to see Molly." She said. They hesitated. Melanie's face instantly went from happy her mother was ok, to sad again.  
  
"What? Tell me!" Sydney ordered.  
  
"Well, the bullet went inside Molly's stomach so hard, and she was so surprised that she had an asthma attack and she went into a coma." Dixon explained.  
  
"What are you talking about? Molly doesn't have asthma." Sydney pointed out.  
  
"Well, apparently she does. She could've gotten it when she endlessly went on missions for the Covenant. Anyway, there is some good news." Jack said. Sydney looked at them hopefully.  
  
"Well, the attack didn't do lasting damage, and the bullet is already out of her, and she's being treated. Her breathing is normal and she's giving off normal brain waves. The doctors estimate she should wake up any day now. It would be extremely rare if she stayed in a coma for another week." Jack said.  
  
Sydney calmed down a considerable amount. It was scary to think that one of her daughters was in a coma, and that always dangled the chance that maybe she'd never wake up. This was a CIA hospital, so the doctors knew what they were doing.  
  
"But could I still see her? She is my daughter." Sydney said. "The best thing for you would be to lie down and rest. You should consider yourself lucky too Syd. You woke up after having a concussion. And you have a broken arm." Jack said. Sydney looked down to see a cast on her right arm. She hadn't even noticed since she had been too worried about Molly.  
  
"I don't care. I just want to see her." Sydney said in a voice indicating the discussion was over. They nodded, and went over to help her up. She got up and followed Jack, Dixon, and Melanie down to the end of the hallway and into the elevator to the eighth floor.  
  
They led her to room 25 where they saw Molly attached to a couple of machines monitoring her heart and her brain. She was hooked up to an IV and was asleep. Sydney was relieved to see her chest moving up and down as a signal for her normal breathing.  
  
"Call us when you're ready to leave. You still need your rest." Jack said and he and Dixon left.  
  
Sydney pulled up a chair with her left hand and sat down, putting Melanie on her lap. She felt like she was in Heaven, sitting in a room with her two daughters, even though one of them was in a coma.  
  
"Mommy?" Melanie said.  
  
"Yeah honey?" Sydney replied.  
  
"Is Molly going to be ok?" she asked, looking at her twin sister with a scared look on her face.  
  
"Yes honey. Molly's going to be just fine. All she has to do is wake up." Sydney told her.  
  
"Oh. And Mommy." Melanie said, tears coming out her eyes.  
  
"Yes Melly Belly?" Sydney asked.  
  
"I missed you. I never was brainwashed. I just had to pretend I was. And that day at the CIA when you chased someone at the end of that hallway? That was me. I had to hide; I didn't have a choice." Melanie told her.  
  
"Yes Melly, I know. I saw you. I couldn't come after you because it would be like trying to chase a cheetah. They run too fast for you to catch up to them. But you know. I went around the world to rescue you. I went to India, Italy, and we almost went to Germany." Sydney said.  
  
"Really? For me?" Melanie asked disbelievingly.  
  
"Yeah. I love you that much." Sydney said, and they hugged each other until the door burst open, and to Sydney's surprise, Michael Vaughn stood by the door, staring at Sydney, Melanie, and Molly with the biggest poker face Sydney had ever seen him have.  
  
A/N: Not much of a cliffhanger, but I had to end it somewhere semi- interesting. I've just about used up all the lyrics to the lullaby, so soon I'm going to title the chapters with things that are going on in the chapter. So when the suddenly stop making sense, that means the lullaby's finished. There will be more as soon as people review! I need them!!!! ^__^ 


	17. We Still Need You

Disclaimer: If I owned Alias, then Lauren Reed would be somewhere in Antarctica, Francie would still be alive, Will would still be in the picture, and Irina would be back in the show! None of those things are in the show, so apparently I don't own it  
  
"Daddy!" Melanie squealed and jumped out of Sydney's lap and ran into Vaughn's arms.  
  
"Hey honey. How are you?" he asked, trying not to let his emotions show.  
  
"Fine! Daddy, I pretended I was brainwashed so they wouldn't kill me! I did what you told me to do! Aren't you proud of me?" Melanie asked. Sydney perked up at hearing these words, but only slightly. She didn't want Vaughn thinking she was suddenly suspicious.  
  
Vaughn stayed silent then said, "Mel, can I talk to Mommy privately for a minute? It'll only be for a minute."  
  
"Why? You can do that anytime! I want to be with you guys! What if the Covenant comes back and kidnaps me again?" Melanie asked, sounding like she did during her first time on Splash Mountain.  
  
"That won't happen honey. I promise." Vaughn said, but that didn't do any good.  
  
"Just let her stay in here Mike. She's fine." Sydney said. Vaughn sighed heavily, surprising Syd. Wouldn't he be ecstatic that that Melanie was found? Not only that, but that Molly was alive and well? But he didn't look or act like he was all that thrilled. Like they had just been at a friend's house for a very long time, and had just gotten home.  
  
"What is it?" Sydney asked him as he pulled up a chair. Melanie climbed into his lap.  
  
"Well, at a CIA debriefing—you weren't here, you were with you mother and father breaking protocol—and we have come to a conclusion...that there is one other person who was doubled. Remember Project Helix? The CIA has received intel that besides Agent Lennox and Francie, one other person was doubled, but it was so big at the time, that all knowledge of it was erased, making it seem like it didn't happen. But somehow...they found out, and are putting out a full investigation on who was doubled." Vaughn told her.  
  
Sydney sighed. She had had enough of hearing about doubles and how maybe one more person was doubled. After Francie, she didn't even like hearing the word 'double.' Who the hell was there left to double? Hadn't they destroyed her life already? She didn't want any part in the investigation. And that's exactly what she told Vaughn.  
  
"You won't? Oh Syd, I'm so glad to hear that. I was hoping you wouldn't want to take part in that. We can start our lives over again. We can raise our daughters together." Vaughn said, but he didn't seem all that thrilled about it.  
  
*Why the hell isn't he happy?!* Sydney thought angrily.  
  
"If you don't mind Mike, I'm not so sure I want to start our lives over again." Sydney said.  
  
"No! Don't start the fighting again! I don't want you guys to start fighting again!" Melanie interrupted.  
  
"Honey, please stay out of this. This isn't your fault." Vaughn said gently.  
  
Sydney was about to tell him off, but was cut off by the door opening again and Jack and Dixon entered.  
  
They both looked they had run a marathon to get to their room. "Good, you're both here. From a reliable source, we have learned that the third double is, in fact, an agent of this agency." Dixon said.  
  
A/N: So what do you think? Who is the double? I need at least three more reviews before I post chapter 18!!! REVIEW!!!!!!!! 


	18. It Can Never Erase

Disclaimer: If I owned Alias, then Lauren Reed would be somewhere in Antarctica, Francie would still be alive, Will would still be in the picture, and Irina would be back in the show! None of those things are in the show, so apparently I don't own it  
  
Melanie sat in her daddy's lap, watching her grandpa and Marcus intently. They had always intrigued her before she was kidnapped because they had this sense of action that her parents lacked. Well, she wasn't too sure about that now since she had seen her mother risk her life more than once in order to get Melanie and Molly away from the Covenant.  
  
But now, as she looked at Sydney in Molly's hospital room, she didn't see that strong, tough, kick-ass woman Melanie knew and loved. She saw a heartbroken, broken woman, who was emotionally shattered all because of her daddy. Well, she took that back. It wasn't her daddy's fault. It was the CIA. Life in general. It was always moments like that that made Melanie think twice before making up her mind so surely on becoming a CIA agent. She had known she wanted to be an agent when she was three-years-old and her mommy and daddy always told her stories about their missions and when their lives had been on the line, and the other had saved them. Those were Melanie's favorite bedtime stories.  
  
She desperately longed to lay in her old canopy bed with Mickey and Minnie Mouse sheets, being tucked in by Sydney and Vaughn, taking turns telling about their mission to steal a priceless Rimbaldi artifact in Taipei and how they had to keep it a secret from the bad guys. SD-6. But, looking at her daddy's emotionless face, and Sydney's broken one, she knew those times were long gone. That they would be nothing more than a memory.  
  
"What do you mean, a CIA agent from right in this building is a double? How is that possible?" Sydney asked disbelievingly.  
  
"Well, according to a source outside the JTF, there is a double agent somewhere out there and it was erased from the hard-drive of Project Helix because it was so top-secret they didn't want anyone to know about it. We are making it our top priority to find out who was doubled, and bring them to justice." Jack said.  
  
"Wait! What about the damn Covenant?! Since when is the Covenant's demise your second priority?" Sydney asked incredulously.  
  
"For the time being, this doubled agent is to be considered dangerous, and if he or she was intentionally doubled as a CIA agent because they were going to steal classified documents, they need to be caught. This is basically no different than finding out there is a mole." Dixon said.  
  
"But Mommy's right! The Covenant is dangerous too! They're trying to take over the world!" Melanie exclaimed. In spite of all the drama, everyone cracked a smile at her statement.  
  
"Sydney, we know you're trying to heal, but we'd really appreciate it if you'd help out in this investigation." Dixon continued as soon as he had regained his composure.  
  
Sydney couldn't believe these people. People she had risked her life to save.  
  
"Do you not see the arm in the cast? Do you not remember the resignation paper I turned in to you? Or are you expecting me to drop everything to help bring this person to justice?" she asked, looking at them with the stare she gave people when she was tired of their bullshit.  
  
Jack and Dixon hesitated, knowing what would happen next. A free Sydney explosion, free of charge.  
  
"Listen, Syd...we know you're going through a difficult time...everything's been happening so fast. But...if you could hear us out first. Remember in 2003 when I refused to come to the CIA because I said I had moved on and wasn't going to put my family's life in danger because of my job. I wasn't going to have a job where my wife and kids were going to wonder if I would come home afterwards. But I came back, didn't I? Because you were in danger? This is the same thing. This double agent could put this agency and all the lives involved in danger. We could really use you Syd." Dixon said desperately.  
  
Sydney considered that. He did have a point. When she needed him and was counting on him to save her life he came through. He was counting on her to do the same thing.  
  
"Yes, but only because of the lives that are at stake." She said, making sure they knew that. Dixon smiled.  
  
"I need to see you in debriefing in ten minutes. Vaughn, can I count on you to help Sydney down there?" Dixon asked, although it wasn't really a question.  
  
"Yes Dixon." Vaughn assured him. As soon as they left Melanie started up again.  
  
"Where will I stay? I can't go into debriefing, can I?" Melanie whined, although it was the sad kind of whine that always made Sydney feel like jello.  
  
"You can stay in here with your sister. She wouldn't want to be left alone, even though she's in a coma. This hospital has a DNA sampler. Anyone who enters this hospital that isn't a patient or a visitor has to put their finger into a little slot. It will take a miniscule sample of it, scan the DNA, and if it matches the DNA in the database, it will allow them to enter, but if it isn't then a silent alarm will be triggered, and agents and trained doctors will apprehend them, and question them. If it is Lauren, Sark, or Cole, they will automatically be arrested and sent to a cellblock in the CIA headquarters where they will remain without a trial. At least, for a couple months. So you have nothing to worry about." Sydney reassured her.  
  
"Ok. But can you lock the door after you? Just in case they try to kill us after they pull the alarm?" Melanie asked.  
  
"Yes. And, if the silent alarm has been set off, that little red dot will start to flash, so you'll be alerted ahead of time. You are 200% safe in this hospital. We'll be right back. Ok?" Sydney asked.  
  
Melanie hesitated, but nodded. Sydney smiled. "That's my brave Melly Belly. Watch over your sister for me, ok? If anything goes wrong with her heart or brain waves, push that button ok? Even if you're not sure, but have doubts in your mind, pull it, because you might save her life. We'll be back soon, I promise." she told her, hugged her, kissed her on the forehead, and she and Vaughn left the room, locking the door behind them as Melanie requested.  
  
"As you all know, an agent of ours has been doubled, and a full investigation has been started. No one is under suspicion but, hopefully, we will have a clue as to who this double is. Right now I'm sending Agents Bristow and Vaughn to Moscow. There is a man named George Rotusof who could lead us in the right direction of who the double really is. Since Sydney's arm is broken, Jack, you will be accompanying Agent Vaughn to Moscow. Your plane leaves in 2 hours." Dixon informed them.  
  
As soon as he dismissed everyone, Dixon called Sydney over to him. "First off, I want you to know that I am very glad to have you back." He said, making sure she knew that he was, indeed, very glad. She gave him a warm smile.  
  
"Well, I can't tell you I'm glad to be back, but at least it's something to do other than lie around the house. Listen, I'm sorry to cut this short, but my daughters are at the hospital, and Melanie's really shaky right now, I need to get back to..." she was cut off my Dixon's cell phone.  
  
"Yeah?" he said. Instantly his face changed from happy, to absolutely joyful. "Yes, thank you." He said then hung it up.  
  
"Well, this should make you really happy. We've apprehended Lauren."  
  
A/N: Chapter 18 up!!! I got tons of reviews for the last chapter so I'm feeling as joyful as Sydney is feeling now that Lauren is in CIA custody! If I get more reviews I'll do a double update!! REVIEW!! 


	19. The Memory Of Your Face

Disclaimer: If I owned Alias, then Lauren Reed would be somewhere in Antarctica, Francie would still be alive, Will would still be in the picture, and Irina would be back in the show! None of those things are in the show, so apparently I don't own it  
  
A/N: Please don't skip this chapter. This is a turning part in the story. It's one of the major things that is going to happen. You MUST read this chapter to understand the rest of it!!  
  
Sydney walked as fast as she could to the cells of the CIA. She knew Melanie was going to be panic-stricken when she discovered her mother wasn't coming to get her when she told her she was, but that would have to wait as much as she didn't want to admit it. She needed to see Lauren and give her a piece of her mind.  
  
"I'd like to see the prisoner." Sydney said, savoring that sentence and the truth in it. Lauren Reed their prisoner.  
  
The bars raised and Sydney walked casually to Lauren's cell, which was the same one Sark was in before Lauren and Cole busted him out. Lauren was sitting on her block of a bed, staring at the wall, either ignoring Sydney, or not noticing she was there.  
  
Sydney cleared her throat loudly, and Lauren looked up. "Well, well, well, if it isn't my favorite agent. You're looking well considering what you've been through." She said.  
  
"I'm not here to have a normal conversation with you. I want to know why you kidnapped my daughter. Daughters, actually." Sydney said, glaring at Lauren.  
  
"You actually think I'd tell you that? God Bristow, how stupid do you think I am? I have loyalties and I'm not about to break them just to help out you and whoever you're trying to help. I have a suspicion though, that Dixon didn't send you down here. You're not here on CIA business. This is just personal. Something you need to do for the twins. And Michael. And you." She said, somehow knowing what was happening.  
  
"My reasons for coming to see you are my own. Why did you and the Covenant kidnap my daughters?" Sydney said, more forcefully this time.  
  
"How are they? Anna and Elizabeth? Oh, sorry. Melanie and Molly." Lauren asked, ignoring Sydney.  
  
"Answer the question, damn it!" Sydney snapped, pounding her fist on the glass, and as soon as she did that, she knew it had been a mistake. Lauren was smirking widely now, and Sydney knew Lauren got the reaction she wanted.  
  
"Scared. You know, when you were presumed dead, everyone kept telling me about the infamous Sydney Bristow and how she could do anything, and how she never let her emotions get in the way of her work. Fearless was the word they used. Sydney Bristow was fearless. Now, all these years later, I see how wrong they were." Lauren said.  
  
Sydney stayed silent. As much as she hated to admit it, Lauren had a point. She was letting her emotions cloud her judgement, and she was letting on that she was scared, but that couldn't be further from the truth. She was anything but scared. Frustrated was more like it.  
  
"Well, I can see you haven't changed either. Well, except for the age. You're showing your age well." Sydney said, matching Lauren's smirk.  
  
"Haven't lost your sense of humor either. Listen, you're the Central Intelligence Agency. I doubt you need my help to find out the Covenant's agenda." Lauren pointed out.  
  
"That doesn't mean we shouldn't interrogate prisoners. You're right, we can easily find out what you were up to. It's just more fun to make you talk." Sydney said.  
  
"You're lucky I'm stuck in here, Bristow." Lauren snarled.  
  
"I've beaten you once. I can do it again." Sydney snapped. Lauren scowled, and Sydney knew she hadn't meant to do that.  
  
"Just wait until you discover something you haven't seen in a long time. Then you'll come to your senses." Lauren said.  
  
"I'll give you some time to think about it. Just don't think I'll go so easy on you next time." Sydney said and left, ignoring what Lauren had said, feeling confident that she had gotten the message across.  
  
When she got back to the JTF, she saw Dixon, Jack, Weiss, even Marshall surrounding Vaughn's desk.  
  
She didn't go see what was wrong, but instantly regretted not doing it when, to her great surprise, a SWAT team entered the JTF and escorted Vaughn to the debriefing room.  
  
She immediately went to Jack. "What's going on?" she asked, looking from him to the team escorting Vaughn out of the building.  
  
"He's the double." he said quietly.  
  
Sydney stared at him incredulously. "But that's impossible! I've talked to him! He talks like Vaughn, he walks like Vaughn, he is Vaughn! There's no way that's not Vaughn!" Sydney said angrily. As if she didn't have enough going on in her life already. Now she had to worry that Michael Vaughn, her ex-husband, wasn't really Michael Vaughn.  
  
"But Dad. If he isn't Vaughn, then who is he?" Sydney asked, trying to stay calm about this.  
  
"We don't know yet, but we have figured out a way to tell." he said, and led Sydney to his desk and pulled out a spare chair so Sydney could sit down.  
  
"We have obtained the device built specifically for Project Helix. It allows the person who was doubled to turn back into themselves. We are going to use it on Vaughn; no the person who was doubled as Vaughn, and find out who he really is." Jack explained briefly.  
  
Now it made sense. The reason he wasn't happy as hell to see his two daughters who he hadn't seen in two and six years. Why he hadn't felt the same way as she did, why he acted so strangely. Like he loved her, but couldn't quite remember he loved her. At least there was an explanation. Of course, there was still one fact that Sydney couldn't stop thinking about.  
  
"Dad. Is the real Vaughn...dead?" she asked fearfully. She knew that Allison Doren, the person who was doubled as Francie, had killed the real Francie. She hoped to death that Vaughn wasn't dead. She, and the twins, wouldn't be able to handle his death.  
  
"We're not sure, but we can never know for sure. Once the person who was doubled as Vaughn is himself again, we will interrogate him unmercifully and find out if Michael is dead or not." Jack said. Sydney noticed him call Vaughn Michael, but she didn't say anything to him.  
  
"Can I watch? I want to know who was doubled as my husband. I mean ex. Ex-husband." she said.  
  
Jack nodded. "Of course. I'll be there too. The procedure shouldn't take more than ten minutes. It works relatively fast." He said.  
  
A large, obese man approached them just then. "Excuse me Agent Bristows. It's starting now. Would you like to come watch?" he said.  
  
"Yes. We would." Jack replied, and they followed him into a room where there was a one-way mirror.  
  
They put the double in the interrogation part of the room and set a small, binocular looking device on a wheeled cart beside him and put his head on the small metal part.  
  
"Do not blink or else you could suffer brain damage." an agent Sydney didn't recognize warned the double of Vaughn. The double didn't nod, but he understood nonetheless.  
  
Soon only the double was in the room. As soon as another agent hit a switch, the interrogation room turned red and he instantly started to change. They all watched intently as he changed quickly. In seven minutes the room turned normal color again, and everything was the same, except for the double.  
  
Sydney almost fainted. She knew the man who was doubled all too well. The man who SD-6 killed way back when in 2001. Jack and everyone else who knew Sydney's story stared at her, watching for what her reaction would be.  
  
"Danny." was all she said.  
  
A/N: Betcha weren't expecting that, were ya? Don't think I don't appreciate all the reviews I'm getting. I love them all! Tons and tons of thanks to those who read and review my story!! But you know the drill. PLEASE review this chapter! This is a major turning part of the story!! 


	20. Can You Hear The Way Our Hearts

Disclaimer:  
  
A/N: This story is S/V so all you loyal Sydney/Vaughn's out there, don't think she's going to fall for Danny again. Anyway, here's chap 20!  
  
"How can this be?" Sydney asked her dad as soon as three agents went back into the interrogation room to escort Danny Hecht to a cell.  
  
"It's entirely possible that he was somehow extracted from your house after you left to see Sloane. Obviously he hadn't been killed, and was nursed back to health, where he was recruited by some organization. But I cannot tell you a certain answer until we get some answers out of him." Jack told her, starting to stand up, but Sydney put her hand on her dad's arm.  
  
"Dad, don't go to hard on him." she said, forgetting the fact that her old fiancé now worked for the bad guys.  
  
"I'll try. But...I can't promise you anything. We do need some answers, and I have a feeling he has most or all of them." Jack replied, and gently pulled his arm out of Sydney's grip and left to go to Danny's cell.  
  
Without warning, Sydney started to cry. Everything was happening so fast. Melanie and Molly's safe return to her, realizing Danny was alive, and was doubled as her ex-husband. Was Michael Vaughn even alive? God she hoped so. She wanted to tell him she was sorry. Sorry for taking everything out on him, sorry she had never given him a second chance, sorry for not saying sorry earlier.  
  
She left the Rotunda and made her way back to the hospital and unlocked the room where Melanie and Molly were, but they weren't there.  
  
"Excuse me, where are the two little girls who were in here?" she asked anxiously to a passing doctor.  
  
He smiled. Molly Bristow woke from her coma. She's just getting checked up, and Melanie's with her. You can see them if you want. They're just right through there." He said and pointed to a door behind the doctor's desk.  
  
Sydney thanked him and opened the door. A young female doctor was talking to Molly, checking her pulse and heart rate and making sure she wasn't too fearful. When they realized Sydney had entered the room Melanie said excitedly, "Molly woke up!"  
  
"That's good. Could you please excuse us for a moment?" Sydney asked the doctor. She nodded and left.  
  
"Girls, what I'm about to say may surprise you." she said as soon as the doctor had closed the door.  
  
"What? Where's Daddy?" Molly asked, looking around.  
  
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Daddy...isn't himself at the moment." Sydney said, trying not to let them see the tears that were making their way to the surface.  
  
"What do you mean?" Melanie asked, looking at her for answers.  
  
"Well...there isn't an easy way to explain this. Daddy was doubled." Sydney said, thankful for the twins being young enough they couldn't really understand it.  
  
"What does that mean? He was cloned?" Molly asked, looking confused.  
  
"In a way. Another man changed his appearance to make himself look like Daddy. He...was the one in the hospital." Sydney tried to explain.  
  
"He was? But then where is Daddy?" Melanie asked, sounding fearful.  
  
"That's what we don't know yet, but we're working on it. For the meantime, Mommy needs you two to be really brave, ok? Can you do that?" Sydney asked, surrendering to the tears.  
  
"Yeah Mommy. We'll be extra brave. And when you find out who was cloned as Daddy, kill him because he stole Daddy's life!" Melanie said.  
  
Sydney laughed. "We can't do that. He has some stuff that might be able to help us find Daddy." Sydney said. And it wasn't just the fact that he could prove to be valuable to the CIA, but the fact that he and Sydney had a history. A history Sydney wasn't keen on remembering.  
  
What you need to do is go home with Grandpa for me while I go talk to the bad man." Sydney said.  
  
"But you just got here! You can't leave us again!" Melanie complained. Molly nodded her agreement.  
  
"I'm not leaving you! I'm going to try to find Daddy." Sydney promised.  
  
"Ok. But only if you find Daddy and kill the bad man as soon as you're allowed to." Melanie said. Sydney smiled.  
  
"I'm going to drop you two off at Grandpa's house and I'm going back to talk to the bad man. And then we'll celebrate your return." Sydney promised. After she checked Molly and herself out of the hospital she dropped the twins off at Jack's house and went back to the CIA.  
  
Once again she showed her badge to the guard in charge of the prison, walked by Lauren's cell and went into the one at the very back with the isolated room that was soundproof and had extra security.  
  
As soon as she entered the cell, she was bombarded with emotions she hadn't felt in several years. Seeing Danny's face breathing the same air as her, looking into her eyes without being dead...it was a different feeling, but somehow, Sydney was getting used to the fact that maybe people who supposedly died weren't really dead.  
  
"So...you're alive." Sydney finally said, trying to stay all business.  
  
"Yeah. That time...I wasn't dead in the bathtub. I was only unconscious. That blood...it wasn't all mine. That guy shed some of his own blood. Some of it was paint, too." Danny said, trying to inform her of how he stayed alive.  
  
"I'm not here to talk to you about how you're alive after all these years. I don't want to catch up on our personal lives with you. I want to know why you were doubled as Agent Vaughn." Sydney said.  
  
"Sydney, don't do this. Don't torture yourself. Just because you're now realizing I'm alive and am a bad guy doesn't mean you have to be ice cold to me. I'm here to talk if you need me." Danny said, looking desperate for an ounce of the same feelings he and Sydney had once shared.  
  
"No! You pointed it out already! You're a bad guy! I don't have normal conversations with bad guys! I'm here for information. Why were you doubled as Michael Vaughn?" Sydney demanded.  
  
Danny sighed. "Need to know, I'm afraid. All I can tell you is that SD-6 or whatever they were called changed their minds about me and saw me as an opportunity. They took me out of the house after you left and took me to an SD-6 safehouse. There they nursed me back to health. At the time I had lost enough blood it resulted in amnesia. I had amnesia. I couldn't remember a damn thing. They led me to believe I was an agent of SD-6. They told me it was a branch of the alliance and that I was on a mission to retrieve a Rimbaldi artifact, but my team was ambushed. All the agents I was supposedly on the mission with was killed and I had been captured. They had tortured me until an emergency extraction team rescued me and brought me back to LA. When the Alliance was brought down for good, I this guy who I never met called Arvin Sloane arranged for me to be brought to this group of people in development of being an agency. They were called the Covenant, and told me I was now an agent of the Covenant. Now here I am, with my old love." Danny said.  
  
"That still doesn't explain how you were doubled, or why." Sydney pointed out.  
  
"Later. Right now I want to hear about you. How are you?" Danny asked, sounding like he had back at the house they had shared.  
  
"That's absolutely none of your business, although now that you ask, I guess I can tell you that I have two daughters. Twins." Sydney said.  
  
"Really? Congratulations." Danny said, sounding sincere.  
  
"Enough already! Danny, please tell me why you were doubled." Sydney said, frustrated tears coming out.  
  
"Ok, ok. It was a Covenant thing. They had stolen Project Helix from the people who developed it. Seeing it as an opportunity they told me I was going to be doubled, but they had no idea who to double me as. To make a long story short, they wanted to know what the CIA knew, so they doubled me as this guy called Michael Vaughn. I wasn't too thrilled about it until I realized he was romantically involved with you." Danny said.  
  
"How long have you been doubled?" Sydney demanded.  
  
"A year." Danny answered.  
  
"Where is Vaughn?" Sydney asked.  
  
Danny sighed. "I was afraid of that. I don't want to tell you Syd, I really don't. But, since he means the world to you, I guess I'll tell you that he's in Sweden. Alive and perfectly healthy. The only problem is that he's in a heavily guarded Covenant prison." He said.  
  
"Good. Thanks for telling me that. But, the CIA is going to go to Sweden to get him out of there, and you will be going with us." Sydney said, fixing him with the coldest stare she could muster.  
  
A/N: Chapter 20. Sorry for the late update but we had Mother's Day stuff to do. And I was watching the 2nd season because my parents have been hogging the computer. That's excellent news to me. My family has discovered digital photography. Oh joy! :( 


	21. Still Cry

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine as you all should know by now. Refer to disclaimer in Lessons in Revenge if you have any questions.  
  
A/N: I made a mistake last chapter. The twins aren't at Jack's house; they are at Weiss's house. I can't write this chapter without Jack being in it, so just pretend that I made it say Weiss in chap 20. Here's 21!!!  
  
"Absolutely not! I don't trust him! If you ask me, I'd say he was leading us into a trap!" Dixon exclaimed angrily.  
  
"But Dixon...what does he have to gain by telling us a lie? Nothing. He's not going anywhere, and he totally sounded sincere when he told me. Besides, he's the only one out of all of us that can get us into that prison undetected!" Sydney argued.  
  
"Yes, but he doesn't have anything to lose either. I'm sorry Sydney, I know this is a difficult situation for you, but we'll find another way to get in that prison, assuming he's even there." Dixon replied, trying to comfort her, but failing.  
  
"I'm going. There's a chance here that we could bring Vaughn back alive, and that Danny can be proved innocent. Just because he was doubled and works for the Covenant doesn't necessarily mean anything. Being doubled isn't a crime, and...oh come on! He hasn't committed a crime any time during his time as being Michael!" Sydney exploded.  
  
Dixon sighed before continuing. "For the time being, I think it's best if we wait until there is another option. An option that doesn't include being led in through the front doors by a Covenant agent. This is a risk you're just going to have to take." he said.  
  
Sydney walked out of the room, knowing if she opened her mouth again, nothing nice would come out. Jack followed her out.  
  
"Dad, this is our only chance of rescuing Vaughn. The longer we wait the more of a chance he has of being killed. If he's already been in Covenant custody, it's a miracle he's even alive right now. I don't care what Dixon says. I'm going to Sweden with Danny to rescue Vaughn." Sydney told him. Jack knew she wasn't kidding.  
  
"Sydney, I just want you to know..." he was cut off by Sydney.  
  
"You know, I really don't care if you report me. Go ahead and report me to Dixon. What is he going to do anyway? He can't fire me; I don't work for the CIA anymore." Sydney pointed out.  
  
"No! Just listen for a minute ok? What I was going to say, is that I want you to know that you're going to need more than just Daniel Hecht to lead you into that prison. Chances are that there will be way more than two Covenant agents waiting to greet you at the door. You're going to need a team." Jack told her patiently and quietly.  
  
"Wait. You're ok with this?" Sydney asked incredulously.  
  
"If I have an instinct on something, I follow it. Since when have I ever followed protocol instead of doing what I know in my heart is right?" Jack asked, showing a hint of a smile.  
  
Sydney smiled too. "Ok. But where are we going to find a team? Not too many agents are risking to go against Dixon's orders just to release one CIA agent." Sydney said.  
  
"Yes. But how many of them do you know that are going to say no to me?" Jack gestured to himself, and Sydney had to force herself not to laugh. He was right about that too; she only knew of one other person who dared to defy Jack Bristow besides herself.  
  
Kendall.  
  
"Ok, but who are we going to get to join us?" Sydney asked. Jack didn't answer her; instead he went to the same man who had shown them to the interrogation room when they were about to get the double back to his original state.  
  
Jack said something to the man that made him look at him in disbelief. Jack gave him a look, then the man nodded and left. Jack returned to Sydney.  
  
"We should have enough agents to have an acceptable team, but not so much Dixon will start to suspect we did exactly as we're doing." Jack said and headed towards Danny's cell, with Sydney at his heels.  
  
Sydney met with the team at exactly midnight. They were going to fly to Danderyd Sweden where the Covenant prison was. She was the last one there; she met Danny's eyes. He smiled a warm smile which Sydney returned.  
  
"Ok, now that Sydney's here we can proceed. Remember that if Dixon finds out about this, the story is that you all were blackmailed by me. We do not leave until we have Agent Vaughn in our custody. If anyone betrays this agency tonight, their head will be mine. Do you all understand me?" Jack asked, looking at Danny as he said this.  
  
The team nodded their agreement and they got into the jet where they would land a mile from the prison. Sydney sat down at the back of the jet, and Danny sat down next to her.  
  
"Listen Syd. I'm sorry for hurting you. I wanted so many times to contact you and tell you I was alive and well, but that would put your life in danger, and they would've killed me. I was watched constantly to make sure I wouldn't think about going back to my old life. This wasn't all that long ago. It was only about a year and a half ago when I got my memory back." Danny told her, sounding sincere.  
  
"You didn't do anything to hurt me. What you saw back in the cell...that was the shock of seeing you alive and being doubled as my husband—ex husband—and that just shocked me. I realize it wasn't your fault, and I'm sorry for acting like a jerk back there." Sydney said.  
  
"No, it's perfectly understandable. I could've told you so many times that it was me and not this Michael Vaughn guy, but I didn't. I guess I just liked seeing your face so much that I didn't want you to start hating me. I want the Sydney Bristow that I could tell anything to to come back." Danny said, raising her head up to look into her eyes.  
  
They made eye contact and Sydney looked back in her lap to hide the smile. Finally she looked back up at him and said, "She never left."  
  
Danny smiled and they went to hug each other when Jack interrupted. "Hands stay where I can see them! You are still far from being cleared as a non-threat. Until that time, you stay under my watch!" Jack snapped at him, gesturing to his gun.  
  
"I get the point Mr. Bristow." he said. As soon as Jack returned to his seat Danny said, "Looks like he hasn't changed at all. Is he still that protective of you as in 2001 when I called him to tell him we were getting married?" he asked incredulously.  
  
"No. That was just the agent in him talking. If he wanted you dead, he would've done it long ago." Sydney assured him.  
  
Danny laughed. "Good to know." They both leaned back in their seats and stayed silent. Sydney was at a loss for what to say. She wanted to tell him what was currently going on in her life, but how was she supposed to start? 'Hello Danny, I forgot to tell you. The Covenant kidnapped my daughters and kept them for two years where they tried to brainwash them but failed because of this thing my father developed called Project Christmas but now they're back with me. My mother's alive which you probably didn't know, my father never changed really, and now I'm realizing you're alive and Vaughn's being held captive in Danderyd, Sweden where we're going to rescue him. How's your life been going?'  
  
Sydney laughed as she imagined Danny's reaction to that. She went to ask him what he had been doing besides being a bad guy but found he was already asleep. Before she knew it, the plane landed and they were Danderyd.  
  
"Danny, we're here." Sydney said as she shook him awake gently. "Damn, that was the weirdest dream. I had a dream I had been doubled as your father, and as soon as you realized that you killed me and went on a death rampage, killing everyone that just said hi to you. It was weird." he said.  
  
Sydney laughed, but stopped as soon as they got off the plane where they suddenly got deathly silent. Danny headed to the front of the team. "There are ten hidden security cameras mounted on the walls, plus infrared lasers. I'll need to deactivate the lasers before I can disconnect the cameras, otherwise I'll interfere with the lasers, and the Covenant will already know we're here." Danny explained as he got a Laser Interrupter.  
  
After he had shot all the places where the lasers stopped, he grabbed a gun with a silencer and aimed at different places on the walls, shooting ten different places. When he was satisfied, he moved on, and Jack, Sydney, and the rest of the team took that as their cue to follow him.  
  
"Once we try to shoot this door open or unlock it with a lock pick, body heat sensors will go off, and the gun turrets will be activated." Danny said.  
  
"Well then how the hell are we going to get inside?" Jack asked angrily.  
  
"Not to worry. I have my own key. How this door can distinguish the key from a lock pick, I don't know, but it can, so be thankful that I have the key." He said and as soon as the door was open, Danny leaned against the far right wall.  
  
"If we stick to this wall and walk very slowly and not make a sound, the gun turrets won't know we're there, so we need to be really quiet." Danny whispered so softly Sydney barely heard him.  
  
"How many gun turrets are there exactly?" one agent asked hesitantly.  
  
"About fifty, but 90% of them aren't working properly, so as soon as we get to the 3rd basement where Vaughn is, we'll be safe until we get back up here." Danny assured them. As soon as they got to the end of the corridor, Danny opened the last door on the left and walked faster downstairs. The team followed his lead.  
  
"Where are all the Covenant agents?" Sydney asked him.  
  
"Probably interrogating a few prisoners. They always wait until midnight, one in the morning, times like that to really interrogate people because that's when they're most vulnerable. When all their energy is used up and they don't have the strength to fight the torture." Danny explained easily.  
  
Sydney nodded uneasily. If they were interrogating Vaughn, then that would ruin their cover. Danny seemed to know what she was thinking because he said, "Listen, they've had Vaughn for over a year. Chances are, they got everything out of him that they could." He said.  
  
"Then why keep him alive?" Sydney asked fearful. Danny shrugged. "They didn't keep me in the loop on their prisoners. Besides, I wasn't here long enough to know for sure. All I know is that he's here and is in sub- basement three." He said as he led them downstairs.  
  
When they heard voices they immediately got quieter and held their guns closer to them. "I'm only going to ask you once, then we start bring out the heavier artillery. This is your only warning. Where is Molly Bristow?" a voice asked in a menacing voice.  
  
Sydney's senses went on extra alert when she heard her daughter's name. That gave her an idea of who they were questioning.  
  
"She's dead! I swear to god! She's dead!" Vaughn's shaky voice replied.  
  
"Somehow, I just don't believe you Agent Vaughn, but that's ok. You don't want to talk, it doesn't really matter to me. We'll just have to...make you." the man said, and Sydney knew he was smirking as he said this.  
  
"Let's go. On three." Jack said. He motioned with his hands one and two. After a few seconds he nodded and they came storming into the room.  
  
"Hands up! Get your hands up now!" everyone shouted, aiming their guns at the ten or so Covenant agents who were surrounding Vaughn. The other prisoners backed into their cells in fear, not knowing it was the CIA who was about to rescue them.  
  
"Against the wall, hands behind your head!" they ordered. Sydney purposefully went for the one who had been interrogating Vaughn, and who was about to torture him.  
  
"Ok honey, whatever you say." the man smirked.  
  
"Shut up! You don't have the right to talk!" Sydney snapped, resisting the urge to shoot him.  
  
After she had him handcuffed, another agent took him out to where the jet was waiting. Sydney went for Vaughn. His hair had grown a lot during the year he was in Covenant custody. It was down to his shoulders, and he was on the verge of having a beard; Vaughn had once told her it took him forever to grow mustaches and beards. But what he lacked in facial hair he made up for in bruises and cuts.  
  
"Vaughn, are you ok?" Sydney asked as she unbinded him.  
  
"I will be now that you're here." he said gratefully, then shifted his gaze to Danny.  
  
"Is that...is that...Danny?" he asked, not quite believing it.  
  
Sydney nodded. "I'll tell you everything when we get back. Right now you need to see a doctor." She said.  
  
Vaughn shook his head. "No, I'm fine. What I need is to leave this damn place. You know how awful it feels to live in a prison?" he asked, trying to lighten the moment. Sydney laughed and shook her head.  
  
"No, and let's hope it never comes to that. But I have good news that will make you feel better." Sydney said as she led him to the jet.  
  
"What? After seeing your fiancé, I'm not sure what to expect." He said.  
  
"Melanie's alive. We found her. She's at Weiss's place." Sydney said. Vaughn froze and looked at her.  
  
"Really? They found Melly Belly?" he asked, tears forming in his eyes. Sydney nodded.  
  
"Yes, and there's more." Sydney said, anxious to tell him everything.  
  
"What?" Vaughn asked, eager to hear more.  
  
"Molly's alive too. She was working with Molly. She's with Melanie. And we have Lauren in custody." Sydney said, knowing she was overwhelming.  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down Syd. I can only handle so much good news at a time you know." He joked. Sydney laughed, and cuddled next to him. Sitting there with him just then made her realize how much she missed him. The house was dead without him, and now that they had the twins, why not get back together? Melanie didn't know they had gotten a divorce, and was expecting him to be at the house after Sydney rescued him, although she didn't know about that part. And Molly didn't even know her parents. Vaughn was a huge influence in their lives, but she decided to tell him she wanted to get back together in LA.  
  
They fell asleep together and didn't wake up until they landed on the ground with a thud. After they got off the jet they got into Sydney's car and drove to Weiss's house to pick up the twins.  
  
"Syd, I can't do this? What if Mel doesn't remember me? What if Molly hates me? Oh god Syd, what if they don't want me to be their father?" Vaughn asked, looking more insecure than Sydney had ever seen him.  
  
"God Vaughn, calm down. You're their father for god's sake! Melanie wants you, and Molly wants to know her father. Trust me, they want you!" Sydney assured him. They rang the doorbell after Vaughn assured Sydney he would be fine.  
  
"What the hell do you guys want? I only got them to sleep and now you're expecting me to..." Weiss stopped as soon as he recognized the man with the long hair and an almost mustache and beard.  
  
"Mike? Is that you?" he asked disbelievingly.  
  
"Yeah. Sydney and Jack and a whole team of CIA agents rescued me from a prison in Danderyd. Listen, I was being interrogated and almost tortured. I really don't want to do anything except see my daughters and get to bed. I'll fill you as well as the rest of the CIA in on what happened tomorrow." Vaughn said impatiently.  
  
It took Weiss a minute to register what Vaughn had said then, "Yeah, sure, ok. I'll wake them up, but it'll be a miracle if you can get them to sleep. Melanie's hyper but that's probably because I gave her the biggest lollipop she had ever laid eyes on, and Molly's absolutely hysterical. Consider yourselves warned."  
  
He went to wake them up and Sydney and Vaughn stepped inside. Finally Melanie and Molly were downstairs. When Melanie saw Vaughn, she stopped.  
  
"You're not the double are you?" she asked, hesitating.  
  
"No Melly Belly. It's me. Daddy." Vaughn said. Melanie ran into his arms and hugged him so tight his face started turning purple.  
  
"Ok Mel, please let go." He said, then turned to Molly. Her eyes were red, and as soon as she realized she had the attention of everyone in the room she burst into tears.  
  
"Mommy, I'm so sorry! I kept something from you!" she wailed.  
  
"It's ok Molly. What is it?" she asked.  
  
"I never had heart failure! I knew who the double was this whole time, but was afraid to tell you! Mommy, Danny Hecht was doubled as Daddy, but there's a problem. He wanted you guys to catch him! I've been working with him! It was planned that Danny would intentionally set himself up, giving the CIA obvious evidence that he was the mole. He has something planned, but I don't know what; he didn't tell me. It was my job to distract you, and Grandpa, and Marcus, and everybody! Don't hate me!" she cried.  
  
"Wait! What are you talking about?" Sydney asked.  
  
"Danny is planning something evil, but I can't tell you what! He was supposed to lead you to rescue Daddy so that the final part was complete!" Molly cried.  
  
"What does that mean?" Sydney asked. Molly absolutely exploded.  
  
"It means that I'm a bad guy Mommy! I'm a Covenant agent too, and I've been working against you and the CIA since the moment I was teamed up as Melanie's partner!"  
  
A/N: So what do you think? I thought that was another nice little twist in the story! It just popped into my head! Nice long chapter too! Well, for me it was. You know the drill. Review and 22 will be up soon!!! 


	22. The Rimbaldi Device

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine as you all should know by now. Refer to disclaimer in Lessons in Revenge if you have any questions.  
  
A/N: Ok I'm back and with chap 22 if you can believe that! Nothing to do and a boring night is my inspiration for updating (just kidding!!). No, I just LOVE the reviews I'm getting! Keep them coming! Hopefully you will like this chapter. I finished the Lullaby's lyrics, so from 22 on, the titles will be what the chapter is about.  
  
Melanie felt like time had stopped. Molly was lying. There was no other explanation for why she had just said what she said. She was afraid because of all the things that were going on, and they were going too fast that she was simply afraid, therefore giving her reason to lie.  
  
But the scary part was, Melanie knew she wasn't lying. The look on her twin sister's face gave that away. That look of guilt, and fear of what would happen next. Melanie wanted to hurt her. Not kill her, but hurt her enough that she'd get the message that betraying people she loved and cared about wasn't something she had to keep secret. Why was it even a secret anyway? She shouldn't even be working for the Covenant in the first place so there wouldn't be a secret to keep!  
  
Melanie looked into her mother and father's faces. Her daddy looked utterly confused, and Sydney looked like she was being betrayed (which she basically was).  
  
Before anyone knew what happened next, Molly suddenly jumped in the air, turned in midair, and kicked them all to the ground, including Melanie and Weiss. She wiped her tears away viciously and, to Melanie's horror, put her hand to her ear, where Melanie could now clearly see a comm.  
  
"Mad Hatter, prepare for extraction!" Molly said, her voice still shaky from the fake tears.  
  
"Mommy, what's happening?" Melanie cried to Sydney. She was going blind; she couldn't see a thing. She was going blind. Was she dying? She was rising from the floor; her arm muscles were suddenly becoming weak, but she was still being raised up from the ground. Was she an angel now? She was weak as hell, but she was moving. She couldn't see a thing. She tried to talk, but couldn't do that either. She was vaguely aware of Sydney and Vaughn screaming, "Melanie! Melanie come back!"  
  
That confirmed it. She was dead. Huh. Maybe death wasn't such a bad thing. She could still think, she could still hear what was going on around her. But then she heard more voices. These voices were much closer than her mommy's voice.  
  
"Get her secure!" a familiar voice ordered someone. Melanie's world came crashing in on her at that second. She wasn't dead. She had been recaptured.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Sydney! Mike! Oh god, are you ok?" Weiss called out fearfully.  
  
"Yeah! Yeah, we're ok Eric." Sydney said, although she was lying. She had just seen the daughter she hadn't seen in six years betray her and Vaughn, and Melanie for that matter, and had seen her call into the Covenant, and at that precise moment, Covenant agents burst into the house, blindfolded Melanie, stuffed a gag into her mouth, and had taken her away for the third time.  
  
"Mike? Are you ok?" Weiss asked, his voice dripping with concern.  
  
"Oh yeah, I'm great!" Vaughn said sarcastically. He winced as he accidentally leaned against one of the many bruises the Covenant had decided to give him as a souvenir of his captivity.  
  
"Mike, you really need to see a doctor." Weiss pointed out, giving him his I-mean-business look.  
  
"No, what I need is to find my daughters. This is the second time this has happened to me, and once I find them, they will be going into protective custody, where they will do nothing but stay indoors!" Vaughn said, although Sydney wasn't sure whether or not he was joking.  
  
"It's three in the morning Vaughn. There isn't nothing much we can do until eight, where normal people will be getting into the office to sort this out. If we don't get rest now, we'll regret it later, especially if Dixon sends us on another one of his endless missions. We need 100% of our brains, not 2%." Weiss said.  
  
"Eric, we're not in any state of mind to drive." Sydney told him.  
  
"Yes I know. That's why you're sleeping here, and I don't want you two staying up until I wake up, thinking about Melanie and Molly. That will do nothing for you but put you in a dangerous state of mind. That's why you'll be listening to this." Weiss said, and showed them a CD of Mozart.  
  
"What the hell's this?" Vaughn asked incredulously.  
  
"It's a CD of Mozart music, but it also has a little soother planted in there that will strike at the part of your brain that makes you sleep, and it put you to sleep until 6:30." Weiss explained.  
  
"Where did you get this?" Sydney asked.  
  
"Can't tell you. Now, get into bed." Weiss ordered. They did and Weiss slipped the CD in and they were instantly in dream mode.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Sorry for such drastic measures, but it's not like we can try to brainwash you. Thanks to your sister, we now know that if we did, we'd basically be wasting our resources. So now...we have to refer to...different tactics." Sark said, smiling coyly.  
  
"Go to Hell!" Melanie spat. She would've punched him, but she was handcuffed to the chair.  
  
"Now, now Melanie. No need for bad language. All I want you to do is agree to help us." Sark said.  
  
"With what? Need help planning your funeral?" Melanie said, then laughed in spite of herself.  
  
"Listen here girl. You will help us, if it costs your mother and father their lives. You wouldn't want that now would you? To have that hanging over your head for the rest of your life." Sark said.  
  
Melanie knew he was blackmailing her, but it didn't change the fact that she knew they'd go through with it if Melanie kept up her Go To Hell routine.  
  
"Fine. But you had better leave them alone." Melanie snarled. Sark smiled.  
  
"There's the girl I remember. Listen, you're going to be going with Molly to Australia. The last Rimbaldi device that isn't in anybody's possession is there, and we drastically need it. If we act fast, we can get their hours before the CIA. We need that device." Sark told her.  
  
"What for?" Melanie asked, trying to sound intrique.  
  
"Can't tell you, but you'll know soon enough." Sark said. Melanie noticed he wasn't moving to undo her handcuffs.  
  
After a while, Molly came into the room, followed by Cole. "We're ready." Molly said, looking into Melanie's eyes and smirking. Melanie scowled, hating her twin sister as much as she had loved her an hour earlier.  
  
As soon as Sark heard that, he unlocked the handcuffs. Molly and Cole walked out towards the van, and Melanie was followed by Sark. They all got in the van, where Molly and Sark watched Melanie to the point of feeling insecure.  
  
When they were finally in Australia Molly and Melanie got out of the van. Molly handed her a gun and said, "It only has two shots. They are going to be needed to kill the guards. You get any ideas, the Cole and Sark will give the snipers their cue to shoot you. So be careful." Molly hissed.  
  
Molly turned around and Melanie secretly flicked her off. Why were all these things happening to their family? She wanted to shoot Molly, but there was always the chance she could de-brainwashed and live with her real family.  
  
"The device is in a large janitor's closet. The people who put it there knew no one would think to look there, so they put it there. I'll get the device, you shoot all the guards that come this way." Molly ordered evilly.  
  
Melanie nodded, resisting the urge to punch her sister. Thankfully, no one came their way. It was easy. Too easy. As soon as they got back in the airplane Sark took the device from Molly.  
  
"You might want to get some sleep." Molly laughed to her sister.  
  
"Why?" Melanie asked, not being able to help but sound a little bit scared. Molly smirked.  
  
"Oh you'll find out soon enough. And when you do, you'll wish you didn't know." she said.  
  
Melanie knew she was right. She fell asleep and no sooner did she fall asleep, but she was yanked upright and held up by Cole and Molly and Sark opened the device to reveal a small opening that could fit a little kid's head in.  
  
"Guess what you get to do Melanie?" he asked, showing her his biggest smirk yet.  
  
"What?" Melanie snapped.  
  
"You get to go into the very brain of Rimbaldi himself." Sark said and opened the thing a little wider and Cole pushed her head inside the device.  
  
A/N: I know it's shorter than last chapter, and not as good, but it'll get better, I promise!! It isn't that good, but...I don't know. 23 will be better, I promise!!! Review please!!!!! 


	23. The Covenant And A Prophecy

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine as you all should know by now. Refer to disclaimer in Lessons in Revenge if you have any questions.  
  
A/N: This is just a little note to Natalie. This story isn't going to have a happy ending, considering I have made it so that I could write a sequel if I wanted to and was up to it. And to everyone, please tell me if you think this story shouldn't have a sequel.  
  
The first thing Melanie saw was numbers. A whole slew of them. It was so hard to understand, though. What was she supposed to do? "Just keep an open mind Melanie. That's all you need to do." A voice told her, and it sounded oddly like Sark.  
  
She tried to speak out, but found she couldn't. It was like someone had glued her mouth closed. She was afraid, and tried to pull out of wherever she was.  
  
"Melanie, don't struggle! If you do, it'll only be worse for you." Sark's voice instructed.  
  
Melanie barely heard him. She needed to find a way out of there, but no sooner did that thought enter her brain, then Sark's voice returned.  
  
"Listen to me Melanie! If you try to find a way out, the deeper you get into it. If you stop thinking and just do what I tell you, you will be fine, and you will be out of there soon." He said.  
  
Melanie decided to take a look around her, and it was an unusual sight. There was nothing but numbers, symbols, and odd looking devices. Melanie took these in with curiosity and interest. There was no end to it in sight.  
  
"This is good Melanie. Just look around and don't think about anything else. Just take it all in." Sark's voice ordered.  
  
She did, and looked around for a few minutes, and when she turned around again, what she saw next surprised her so much, everything disappeared and all she saw was darkness.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"I need to see Mom. Dad, remember when the three of us were in India, and she said that that woman in the prophecy wasn't me, but Melanie? Well, I think there's something dangerous going on. Why else would the Covenant go to such great lengths to have Melanie in their clutches?" Sydney said, feeling overwhelmed that she had thought of that.  
  
"Yes, but what could Irina possibly know about this? She doesn't work with or for the Covenant." Jack said, although Sydney could see he was trying to sort this out.  
  
"Maybe, but she's the only one who was able to get into the Covenant's hard-drive. She said so herself that she hadn't decoded all the documents yet. Maybe she got some more decoded and was able to find out what the Covenant was up to." Sydney suggested.  
  
"It is possible. It isn't unlike her." Jack said.  
  
"Any lead at this point could save Melanie's life. Molly's too." Sydney said, and she tried desperately not to let her father know that she was on the verge of tears. If Jack noticed, he didn't say anything.  
  
"Irina is in Flagstaff, Arizona. Obviously she couldn't show up in LA. We can just drive there; there isn't any point to take a plane. If we move now, we can get there by seven in the morning." Jack said, and they headed out to their cars and drove to a CIA contact who they hardly ever needed since they were still in LA.  
  
"Agent Bristow? Both Bristows? My this is an unexpected surprise. What can I do for you?" he asked, beckoning them inside his little safehouse.  
  
"We just need an unmarked car. We need to get to Flagstaff Arizona, and we need to do it in secret. We can't drive our cars since the CIA will know where we're going." Jack told him.  
  
"I can do that. Take your pick. None of these has been used yet. Let's see the CIA track these babies!" the contact boasted.  
  
"Yes, we'll take this one." Jack said, pointing to the black Honda.  
  
"Ah, good pick. But, I do need this back in two days, otherwise I start charging. It's not my policy, that's what CIA is telling me." he shrugged.  
  
"We'll be back by then. We need to get going though. Thank you." Jack said and they got into the car and started driving to Flagstaff.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Melanie? Melanie are you ok?" a familiar voice hummed. Melanie slowly opened her eyes and saw herself staring down at her.  
  
"Melanie?" she said.  
  
It took a second to register where she was and who she was talking to, but when she realized, she backed up.  
  
"You stay away from me! Since when do you care if I'm ok?" Melanie snapped.  
  
"We're still sisters Mel, whether you like it or not. If something happens to you, do you think I wouldn't care?" Molly asked incredulously.  
  
"Well, let's think. First you pretend to be on my side, help our parents stay alive, especially Mommy. You took a bullet for her, and got all emotional when you saw Daddy. Then you betray our family by helping the Covenant kidnap me again! No Molly, I have no idea why you wouldn't care!" Melanie said sarcastically.  
  
"Oh come on, this is all for the best! If you knew what we were doing..." Molly started, but Melanie cut her off.  
  
"That's the problem Molly! If you guys would tell me something, maybe I'd have a clue!" Melanie yelled.  
  
"Yeah Sark! She's fine now!" Molly called out. Melanie got silent as soon as Sark stepped into the room.  
  
"Melanie! So glad you decided to join us physically!" Sark said with fake enthusiasm.  
  
"Stuff it. I've had enough of your crap." Melanie snarled, hoping he'd be taken aback by her behavior. No such luck.  
  
"Well, you're going to have to get used to 'my crap', because at the rate you're going, you'll be here for an awfully long time. But, before we continue, I need to ask you something. What caused you to get out of that device?" Sark asked.  
  
"I don't know. Maybe I'm just smarter than you when it comes to Rambaldi stuff." Melanie shrugged, wanting to laugh when she saw Sark and Molly's looks of frustration.  
  
"Melanie, I've had about enough of your crap! Just answer the question!" Sark snapped.  
  
"Fine! I saw a man." She said.  
  
Sark and Molly looked at each other, looking like they'd just found out they won a trillion dollars.  
  
"What did he say?" Sark asked.  
  
"Nothing. I was just shocked that I'd see a man. Obviously I was inside the mind of this Rambaldi dude, so why would I see a man?" Melanie answered, hoping that would satisfy him.  
  
"Melanie, what did the man look like?" Sark asked.  
  
"I didn't see him! All I saw was an outline, but since you're not going to give up, he had a small figure, and a shadow of what looks like a really long beard. But that's all I saw, I swear." Melanie answered.  
  
Sark nodded. "Thanks Melanie. You're going to go back inside, but this time, look for the man. If you see him, don't jump out of the device. Just try to talk to him, get some answers out of him. If he is who I think he is, than this will be much more important than Rambaldi's messages, and how his mind works." He said, and nodded to Molly who took out the device, and held it out to Melanie, motioning for her to put her head back inside it.  
  
Not wanting to cause a fight, she went in without a fight.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"My, this is an unexpected surprise. Come in." Irina said, and opened the door wider so Jack and Sydney could enter.  
  
As soon as they were both inside Irina quickly closed and locked the door.  
  
"Were you followed?" she asked.  
  
"No. We're here to not only to deliver some bad news, but to ask you for your help. Again." Jack said.  
  
"What? What's wrong?" Irina asked.  
  
"We got Melanie back. And Molly too, but to make a really long story short, Melanie is back in the hands of the Covenant, and we're here because we think you might know why they want her so badly. It could help us find her once and for all." Sydney said.  
  
"Remember how I said that the woman in the prophecy was Melanie? And how the Covenant figured this out so they kidnapped her? Well, think back to what Rambaldi wrote about that woman. 'She is the one to bring forth my works'. I have decoded more of the Covenant's files, and they are preparing to go to Australia to get the last Rambaldi device that isn't in anybody's possession. They wouldn't put in what it does, but they are planning on using it on Melanie so that they can go into the mind of Rambaldi himself, and it will only work on the woman in the prophecy." Irina said.  
  
"Well, what are they going to do with Melanie as soon as they're finished?" Sydney asked.  
  
"Either they will keep her with them forever so that they can use her for more of their evil deeds, or they will kill her."  
  
A/N: Well, how do you like it? Good? Bad? REVIEW PLEASE!! 


	24. Getting Lauren's Advice

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine as you all should know by now. Refer to disclaimer in Lessons in Revenge if you have any questions.  
  
A/N: NOT THE END OF THE STORY!! I have no idea when the end of this story is, but it's not yet!!  
  
"Do you have any idea where Melanie is?" Sydney asked Irina hopefully.  
  
"No, and I doubt if Melanie knows either. They almost lost her once; they can't afford to lose her again, and if they told, she might know how to get back here." Irina replied apologetically.  
  
Sydney nodded, knowing her mother was telling the truth.  
  
"Can you re-access their database?" Jack suddenly asked, deep in thought.  
  
"No, I already told Sydney; they discovered someone hacking into their network. The only two ways we can get back on is if we get into the core of their database, which would be in the Covenant headquarters, or get a Covenant agent to log-in themselves." Irina told him.  
  
Jack stayed in thought for a moment before continuing. "If we can compromise an agent, we could get them to go into their system, but the problem is finding someone to compromise." he said.  
  
"I know who we can get." Sydney interrupted, glad she was finally being able to help with something. Jack and Irina looked at her in surprise; like Sydney would ever find a Covenant agent right away.  
  
"Lauren." Sydney said when her parents looked on the verge of laughing.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"We need you to log-in into the Covenant's network. If you're not going to tell us where she is, you're going to read us Covenant files." Jack warned Lauren. He, Sydney, and Vaughn crowded inside Lauren's cell; Sydney and Vaughn silently celebrating this moment. The moment where they could possibly torture Lauren for information.  
  
"Fuck you. I already told Sydney, I have morals of my own, and I'm not about to willingly help the damn CIA." Lauren said coldly.  
  
"That's fine. But, we can get you to talk." Jack told her coolly.  
  
Lauren snorted with laughter. "I really believe that! I've seen the CIA torture methods Jack. I think I can endure a little shock therapy." she laughed.  
  
"I'm glad to hear that. But no, shock therapy isn't what we had in mind." he told her. Lauren paled slightly at this, but not enough that it was truly noticeable.  
  
Jack then nodded to an outside guard, and he brought in a small tray that held nothing except pliers.  
  
"What are you going to do with that?" Lauren asked.  
  
Sydney and Vaughn rolled their eyes. "Dad, just do it already." Sydney sighed with exasperation. Jack wasted no time obeying Sydney's request. He took the pliers and Lauren's hand and started to rip off Lauren's fingernail.  
  
Lauren tried desperately not to show the pain, but she failed after Jack gave one huge tug and it almost ripped out.  
  
"Ok, ok, goddamn!" Lauren cried out like a little kid. Sydney wanted to laugh. Apparently she wasn't as tough as she thought she was.  
  
Jack put the pliers down and took the laptop from under his feet. "Login to your screen-name and tell us where Melanie and Molly are." Jack ordered.  
  
Lauren did so, and waited for the documents to on the screen. "It doesn't say. All it says is Europe, but it doesn't say where in Europe." Lauren said, and somehow, Sydney knew she was telling the truth.  
  
"Is there anyway you can find out?" Jack demanded impatiently.  
  
"Only if I call Sark, but that would be a little suspicious, wouldn't it? They know I'm in your custody. If I call Sark, he'll know I've told the CIA, and he could move them to another location. You're better off finding out some other way." Lauren said.  
  
Jack, Sydney, and Vaughn all looked at each other before replying. "If, by the time we find out where in Europe they are, and they turn up to be dead, I kill you by torturing you so slowly and painfully, you'll wish for Hell." Jack threatened before leaving the cell with Sydney and Vaughn at his heels.  
  
A/N: Nothing much, but I hope you enjoyed the sort of torturing. If you've read Firestarter, than you'll know where I got that torture method. Anyway, please review!! 


	25. A Father And Daughter Moment

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine as you all should know by now. Refer to disclaimer in Lessons in Revenge if you have any questions.  
  
"Dad, are we going to find where in Europe the Covenant has Melanie and Molly?" Sydney asked, looking at Jack doubtfully.  
  
"Lauren isn't the only Covenant agent we have in custody." Jack told her.  
  
Sydney caught on quickly. "Danny." she said, amazed that she didn't think of that sooner. "He'd help us." she stated, but no sooner did she utter those words then Dixon came over to them.  
  
"Sydney, first off, I want to say that on behalf of this agency, we're very sorry for the twins' disappearance. The second. But, what I have to say couldn't wait for a debriefing. Danny's escaped." he said. Sydney wanted to throw a temper tantrum then and there. How could the CIA be so stupid?  
  
"Why are you apologizing? You're wasting time when you could be out there right now, looking for him. Right now we've come upon intelligence that suggests Danny may be the only person who can help us find Melanie and Molly." Sydney said, wiping frustrated tears out of her eyes.  
  
"What are you suggesting? That all of this mess is somehow connected?" Dixon asked, looking at her uncertainly, but suggestively.  
  
"That's what I believe. If we can get to the bottom of all this, and find out what the Covenant is really working on, we can save my daughters. Solve one, we will definitely solve the other. Dixon, this could be the key to bringing an end to the Covenant once and for all!" Sydney told her.  
  
Dixon nodded, immediately seeing what Sydney was talking about. "The one thing I don't understand, is why Danny is the only person who can help you but, in case you have forgotten, we do have Lauren Reed in our custody." he told them.  
  
"Yes, and she has made it clear she has no interest in cooperating with us. She has done all she can. The only thing she can do is make contact with Sark, and that is basically putting a date on Melanie and Molly's lives. We need Danny." Jack explained.  
  
Dixon nodded thoughtfully. "Yes. Ok, I'll have security section get the surveillance tape from Danny's cell. Hopefully that will give us a lead. What I want you two to do is go home and get some sleep. You need it. We'll call you as soon as we get a lead." he said.  
  
They nodded and left as soon as Dixon called into security section. "Syd, I don't want you to think any more about this. You need your sleep." Jack said. Sydney nodded, ordering herself to take his advice.  
  
As soon as she got to her house she turned on her radio to the first station that didn't have a depressing song and turned on all the lights, not letting herself live in a cave.  
  
She made herself some tea and sat down in front of her TV, turning to something, but she didn't know what. She just didn't want the house to be in silence. It was much easier to think when there was nothing to listen to.  
  
No sooner did she finally have a moment in peace, than her cell phone rang. "Hello?" Sydney said uncertainly, praying it wasn't the CIA. She didn't feel like going back right after she got home.  
  
"Sydney it's me. I just wanted to make sure you were ok." Jack said.  
  
"Dad, I'm fine. I'm not a kid anymore. You don't have to keep checking in on me." Sydney said, feeling ten-years-old again when Jack would always call the house to make sure Sydney was ok when he was on one of his endless business trips.  
  
"Yeah well, you know how it is. If something goes on that affects you personally, you tend to let on you're ok when you're not, and I just wanted to make sure you were ok. Sydney, it's not like I'm just your business colleague. I'm your father; I know when something's bothering you." Jack said, sounding most like a father than he ever did before.  
  
"Thanks for caring Dad, but really, I'm fine. I was just having some tea and then I was going to bed. For all we know, the CIA could get a lead on Danny's escape at three in the morning, and we'd be expected in the office no later than 3:30." Sydney said, hoping that would give Jack the message that she could take care of herself.  
  
"Fine. Just...let me know if...you need someone to talk to. I will be here." Jack said, hoping to comfort her.  
  
Sydney nodded. "Ok. Thanks. I really need to go Dad, I need about as much sleep as I can. I'll see you tomorrow." She said, and after they said goodbye they hung up. Sydney finished the rest of her tea, then shut off everything and went upstairs to her bed and fell asleep, dreamless.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
When Sydney woke up, the sunlight peeking through her window was as bright as it could possibly get. When she checked her digital clock, she was shocked to discover it was almost noon.  
  
"Shit!" Sydney exclaimed and got out of bed to take a shower, but saw Jack sitting on her couch.  
  
"Dad, what are you doing here?" Sydney asked incredulously.  
  
"You've been given the day off. Considering all you've been through, it was the least they could do." he told her, a hint of a smile showing on his face.  
  
"That still doesn't answer what you're doing here." Sydney pointed out as she sat down next to him.  
  
"If Dixon finds out I've left, it won't matter. My daughter is more important than my job." Jack said.  
  
If only he told me that when I was a kid!, Sydney thought to herself. Instead of talking, she smiled.  
  
"Do you want some lunch?" she asked.  
  
"No, I'm fine." Jack said. They were interrupted once again by Sydney's cell phone.  
  
"Yeah?" Sydney said, secretly wanting to throw her phone into the ocean.  
  
"Get in here now, we've got a lead on Danny, and if we act fast, we could apprehend him before he moves again." Dixon said in a voice that told Sydney there was much more to this than just a simple apprehension.  
  
A/N: Don't you love the suspense? I do, and hopefully you will (I am kidding!)! Anyway, this story should be complete in two or three chapters. It could have a sequel, but I need an opinion on that. Sequel or no sequel? That is the question!!! 


	26. Romania

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine as you all should know by now. Refer to disclaimer in Lessons in Revenge if you have any questions.  
  
"We need to go in now. We'll take my car." Jack said and started towards the door, but Sydney stopped him.  
  
"I can't go in dressed like this." she pointed out, gesturing to her pajamas. Jack hesitated, at a loss with what to say before he said, "Just go in that. Put a jacket on over it. I doubt Dixon will care at this point with what you're wearing."  
  
Sydney nodded, grabbed the lightest jacket she could find and followed her father out to his car.  
  
When they got to the JTF they went into the debriefing room where Dixon was already explaining the mission to Vaughn, Weiss, and the rest of whoever was involved.  
  
"Ah, Agent Bristows. Glad to see you've finally joined us. Weiss, can you debrief them on the mission?" Dixon asked. When Weiss nodded Dixon dismissed them. Jack, Sydney, and Weiss were the last ones.  
  
"Apparently Danny Hecht is in Romania. He's using the alias Roberto Develvis. He's applied for the job of a janitor at a mental hospital, and this is the beautiful part: it's the same mental hospital Sydney was in when she was trying to get information out of Shepard in 2001, which automatically puts you in charge of this operation. The plane leaves in two hours. This time instead of being a patient in Mangalev Sydney, you'll be impersonating a doctor. Once you find Danny you'll inject him with this." Weiss said as he held up a small syringe.  
  
"Just in inject him with enough so that he'll be out like a bug for four hours, which is more than enough time to get him back here in LA where he can give us all the information he can on the whereabouts on your daughters Sydney. Any questions?" Weiss asked.  
  
"No." they replied together, and Weiss left.  
  
"As if this could be any better. I get to go back to Bucharest Romania so that I can be back in Mangalev." Sydney said, not believing all the bad luck.  
  
"Hopefully this won't take more than a couple minutes at the least. All you have to do is inject him with the syringe and get him back to LA." Jack said, pointing out the easy parts.  
  
"Yeah. All I have to do." Sydney muttered under her breath.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
"Hello, I'm Gina Yogsjavlia. I'm the doctor being transferred from Moscow." Sydney said, showing her fake ID to the secretary at the front.  
  
"Through that door." The secretary told her in a bored voice.  
  
"Thanks." Sydney said in Russian and stepped inside, putting her ID away.  
  
"I'm in." she said in her comm.  
  
"Copy that. Waiting for confirmation of visual sighting of the target." Dixon's voice said in her ear.  
  
Sydney stayed silent, nodding to all the doctors that passed her. Thankfully nobody told her to tend to a patient, which she used as an opportunity to look for Danny.  
  
Luckily the intercom went off and a deep voice said in Romanian, "Roberto Develvis, you're needed in the basement."  
  
"I'm heading for the basement." Sydney said and went for the stairs. When she got to the basement, she pulled out the syringe, slowly and carefully making her way across the basement in case Danny spotted her before she spotted him.  
  
Suddenly she heard voices. "Has your position been compromised?" the same deep voice asked Danny, this time in English.  
  
"No sir." Danny's voice told him.  
  
"What about the CIA? How did you manage to escape?" the voice said in disbelieving tone.  
  
"Don't worry about that." Danny said, and Sydney took that as her cue to enter the scene.  
  
She slid the needle into Danny before either of the men knew what had just happened.  
  
Danny's contact got over his shock fast and delivered a quick kick to her ribs. Sydney recovered quickly and flipped him over her back. While he was on the ground Sydney checked the syringe quickly to see if she had enough, but didn't have enough time before the man uttered, "You'll never see your daughters again. They're dead." 


	27. Italian Food And A Smile

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine as you all should know by now. Refer to disclaimer in Lessons in Revenge if you have any questions.  
  
A/N: This isn't the last chapter. Next chapter is. Hope you like this one! There will be a sequel!!!  
  
"Your daughters are dead. You have wasted you time coming here." the man said, grinning so widely Sydney could see all his yellow teeth.  
  
"You're wrong." Sydney said, matching the man's heartless grin.  
  
"And how would you know that?" the man questioned, as if bringing forth a challenge.  
  
"For one thing, you need her. She must be alive in order to do whatever you are doing, otherwise everything you've put some effort into accomplishing would go up in smoke. And for another thing, you wouldn't have told me. The Covenant doesn't like telling people what they have already done. If you had really killed them, you would've waited for us to infiltrate your headquarters so you could kill us as well." Sydney said in a bored tone.  
  
The man gave Sydney a look of approval. "You're a smart woman, although I doubt you don't know that. You would make an excellent Covenant agent." the man said.  
  
Sydney rolled her eyes. "I already did." She said and took out the syringe and injected him as well.  
  
"This is Mountaineer. Prepare for extraction." Sydney said into her comm. She quickly took out a stretcher and put Danny on it hand headed to the roof. If anyone asked, he collapsed, hit his head, and she was on her way to take him to a hospital in Germany since all the other hospitals that weren't for mental patients were either in really bad condition or was closed for remodeling.  
  
Fortunately no one even gave her a second look. The helicopter was already there with its doors open. Vaughn and Jack stepped out and helped Sydney put the unconscious man into the helicopter.  
  
"Impressive work handling Shultz." Vaughn said, smiling at Sydney.  
  
"Who?" she asked.  
  
"Rosco Shultz. Former KGB, he's now a contact for the Covenant. From what I hear of him, he's a real bastard." Vaughn said. Sydney nodded, feeling less remorse from injecting him, and more regret for not shooting him.  
  
"You should get some rest. After debriefing Danny, Dixon will undoubtedly need to send us somewhere to retrieve whatever Danny has told us is wherever. Plus...he may have a lead on Melanie and Molly." Vaughn added. Sydney nodded tiredly.  
  
She woke up to Danny's struggling. When he saw Sydney he tried to go to her. "Syd, why did you do this to me?" he managed to get out before Jack, Weiss, and some other CIA agents got him out of the helicopter.  
  
Sydney followed them out, watching closely in case Danny managed to get himself free and start running again. Six U.S. Marshals came to the people that were holding Danny and cuffed his arms and led him to a cell in Solitary Confinement.  
  
"No one sees him until I say so." Dixon said as soon as Danny was in confirmed inside the cell. They all nodded. Sydney sat down at her old desk and waited impatiently. Vaughn came over a few minutes later, looking tired.  
  
"Dixon says it could take a while. Danny's refusing to cooperate, so do you want to get something to eat?" he asked.  
  
Sydney nodded. "I could make do with Italian." She said, smiling at him. Vaughn smiled back.  
  
"Then Italian it is. We'll come back afterwards." He said and they got up and went to Carrabba's Italian Grill. Twenty minutes later they were seated and for the first time they looked at each other with such compassion, Sydney was surprised people weren't staring at them.  
  
Vaughn broke the silence. "So, what have you been up to while I was gone?" he asked. Sydney shrugged.  
  
"Nothing. I didn't willingly come back to the CIA. The double told me that the CIA had a lead on Melanie. That's why I came back." she told him.  
  
"Did you do any other work? How did you pay your bills?" Vaughn asked, looking genuinely interested.  
  
"Don't tell anyone ok? I'd lose my reputation." Sydney said. Vaughn wanted to tell her how so high school that sounded, but decided against it.  
  
"Ok, I promise." was all he said.  
  
Sydney hesitated before saying, "My father's been paying my bills. At the time he was the only one who understood how I felt. He probably still is." she explained.  
  
"I know how you feel." Vaughn said.  
  
Sydney smiled. "I know. But at the time...you weren't there." She pointed out obviously.  
  
They were interrupted by the waiter bringing them their orders. After they ate their cell phones rang.  
  
"This is Dixon. Get yourselves in here now!"  
  
A/N: Next chapter is the last chapter before this story is complete, but there will be a sequel and it will be up soon after this story is finished. Anyway, review!!!! 


	28. A Bad Turn Of Events

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine as you all should know by now. Refer to disclaimer in Lessons in Revenge if you have any questions.  
  
A/N: I updated!! Aren't you all proud of me??? This is the final chapter, but because of the lack of reviews for chap 27 with the exception of Natalie, I am not sure anymore if there should be a sequel. If I get four or more reviews for this chapter, than there will definitely be one! Anyway, here's the final chapter!!  
  
They got to-go boxes for their unfinished dinner, than sped to the Rotunda where Dixon, Jack, and Weiss were standing in a semi-circle, all with their arms crossed, waiting impatiently for Sydney and Vaughn to arrive.  
  
"Now that they have decided to grace us with their presence, I can start. Danny talked. We now have a location as to the whereabouts on Melanie and Molly Bristow, and you will be going at the first opportunity." Dixon briefly explained.  
  
"Wait. Where exactly are they?" Sydney asked anxiously, hiding back grateful tears that they had FINALLY found her daughters, after six years of never being able to see them both side by side.  
  
"They are currently in Switzerland, so we need to move quickly. You leave tonight, and are heading to an abandoned laboratory that was built in the fifties. The people who built it wanted it in a remote location, so the chances of stumbling into any innocent people are very slim. The lab is big, do they could be anywhere inside. Arrest all the Covenant agents you can, and return home. That's all." Dixon said, dismissing them, but Weiss stopped him.  
  
"Sir, you know how Molly supposedly is working for the Covenant? Well, do we return her to Sydney and Mike along with Melanie, or do we arrest her?" he asked, sounding more amused than serious.  
  
"She's just a kid. We're not going to arrest her on terrorist charges. She's young enough that she was probably just doing it to stay alive." Dixon told him, and this time left before anyone else could ask him anything.  
  
"How many people exactly are going with us?" Sydney asked Jack.  
  
"Enough that no Covenant agent can get away, but few enough that the Covenant won't suspect we're there. My suggestion is that you get some rest. Go with Vaughn, prepare the twin's rooms. If I understand correctly, you only have one room just for Melanie." Jack suggested.  
  
Sydney nodded and went with Vaughn to reorganize Melanie's room so that Molly could fit in there, too. "Vaughn." Sydney started. He looked up from moving a dresser to the other side of the room.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I'm sure you'd rather come back here rather than live in an empty apartment. Melanie and Molly would sure like to have their father and Donovan living in the same house as them." Sydney pointed out.  
  
"Actually, I don't have Donovan anymore. He passed away of age. I have a chocolate lab now. His name is Hershey." Vaughn said sadly.  
  
Sydney's hopeful expression was replaced by sadness. "You never told me he died." She pouted playfully.  
  
"It never came up. We had...other things that preoccupied our minds. Still do, actually." Vaughn replied.  
  
"Not for long. Soon we'll have our daughters, and this whole thing will be behind us." Sydney said, dropping the basket of stuffed animals Melanie always kept around and nudging against him, hoping he would get the message.  
  
He did.  
  
"Sydney, why did we ever get divorced?" he asked as he leaned over to kiss her.  
  
Sydney shrugged. "The circumstances, and the whole kidnapping thing. I was angrier than I had when I first realized my mother was still alive. I pushed people away when they were just trying to help, and the last thing I wanted at the time was someone to tell me that continuing the investigation was pointless since she would most likely turn up dead somewhere."  
  
Vaughn pulled away. "You were afraid that I would think that?" he asked incredulously.  
  
"That's what you wrote in the letter. The letter you wrote the day before the divorce was final. You said that there were more important things going on in the world than the disappearance of a child." Sydney said, not being able to believe him.  
  
"Syd, whatever letter you're referring to, I never wrote it." Vaughn pointed out matter-of-factly.  
  
Sydney stared at him incredulously. "Of course you did! It was before the time you were doubled!" Sydney snapped, getting angrier and angrier at him by the minute. Why would he lie about this? He never gave it to her; that had been Danny's doing when he was still doubled as Vaughn, but he couldn't have wrote it. It had been two years ago, and Danny has only been doubled for one year.  
  
"Syd come on." Vaughn pleaded desperately.  
  
"What? What do you want me to do?" she snapped, leaving the room. Vaughn followed her.  
  
"Here me out. They are my daughters as much as they are yours, and I would never try to make you believe that the CIA had a good reason for giving up the case so easily. Yes there are important issues going on that deserves the CIA's attention, but none of that is as important as Melanie and Molly. I expected you to know that. Now I realize that proposing a second time was bad judgment on my part. Maybe now isn't the time to get married. Someday, but not right now. I'm sure you can finish up without me. I need to prepare myself anyway. See you tonight." Vaughn said, hesitated a moment as if expecting her to tell him no, and to stay with her, but when she didn't, he left, leaving a very disgruntled Sydney alone once again.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
In Zurich, Sydney refused to look at Vaughn, knowing she'd either say something she'd regret, or make a foolish decision that would cost an agent his or her life. So she stayed near Jack, while Vaughn stayed with Weiss. An onlooker would think that they were pretending to be in kindergarten with the way they carried on.  
  
"We need to move." an agent pointed out to Jack. He nodded and signaled for them to walk towards their destination. Sydney carefully followed Jack, partly because she didn't want to look at Vaughn and realize just how screwed up their relationship had become.  
  
Luckily Vaughn had the same feelings. As they grew closer to the lab that the Covenant held the twins, Sydney found herself growing very anxious. When the lab came into view, they approached more cautiously until they were just thirty feet from the door. "When we raid this building, you shoot as many people as you can with your tranq guns. No one escapes, understand? Our first priorities are Melanie and Molly, but that doesn't mean we don't make any arrests. Hopefully, by the end of the night, the Covenant will no longer exist." Jack said, intentionally filling the agents with adrenaline so that they had better chances of succeeding.  
  
Everyone nodded their understanding, and when Jack felt everyone was ready, he made the signal for them to go. Everyone stormed inside the building, catching Covenant agents off guard, but Sydney was surprised by the lack of agents. There couldn't have been more than ten inside that she saw. Where were they all? Was it possible that they suspected that this raid would happen?  
  
But that was impossible. If they suspected that, there would be no one here. She heard Sark's voice coming from somewhere below her, and Sydney knew that was where she'd find her daughters.  
  
"I'm heading to the basement." Sydney said in her comm, although Sydney couldn't tell if anyone heard her, but she really didn't care. She found the stairwell leading to the basement in record time and, slowly and carefully, went to rescue her daughters and bring them home once and for all.  
  
That task turned out to be more difficult than she had anticipated. All she heard was Sark. He was talking, but to who? And then she heard it. Molly's voice.  
  
"Julian, this is turning out to be pointless. She isn't talking." she told Sark. Those two sentences broke Sydney's heart. She would've thought that no child of hers would talk to Sark as if he was an equal.  
  
"Patience Molly dear. No one is down here except the two of us not counting your sister. We have all the time in the world." Sark told her.  
  
"Not anymore!" Sydney burst in, her gun pointed directly in between Sark's eyes. Molly paled at the sight of Sydney, but besides that, didn't show any emotion, so Sydney couldn't tell whether she was angry or relieved that she was here to rescue her and Melanie.  
  
"Ah, Miss Bristow. I was beginning to wonder when you would arrive. Great timing I must say. Melanie here, is about to change the world." Sark said, and gestured to Melanie, but Sydney didn't avert her eyes. She had known Sark too long to be fooled by him. It was just a trick so he would get a chance to fight her and/or kill her.  
  
"Let them go. You no longer need them." Sydney said angrily to him.  
  
"See, that's where you're wrong. You're daughters are the most important children on the face of the earth, and you know why?" Sark asked, questioningly.  
  
"Enlighten me." Sydney said coldly.  
  
"As I'm sure you know already, Rambaldi made a prophecy about you Sydney, saying how you would be the one to bring forth his works, but he made another prophecy. A prophecy so huge, that it needed to be in secret, and to find the location of it, you had to match it's coordinates perfectly.  
  
"That's what we were working on for so long. That was what we spent our days working on, trying to pinpoint its location so we could be a step above the CIA, but when we did find it, it turned out to be much more important than who had more Rambaldi artifacts. No, there were two pages. Both had drawings of one girl, but it was kind of odd. It went into detail about how the two girls were to be together in order for the greatest revelation of all time to take place. That was when we found out that maybe, it wasn't one girl, but two. Twins. But they weren't just any twins. They were the daughters of The Chosen One herself. So after we discovered that the twins needed to fulfill Rambaldi's obsession weren't even born yet, we waited patiently for them to be born. When the date arrived explaining when the twins were to be born, we went to the hospital, and managed to kidnap one of the girls. That girl was Molly Bristow. We exchanged the doctor that was originally in charge if their births with one of our own.  
  
"That doctor was to tell you that Molly had died of heart failure. We figured we would get the other twin soon enough. And soon enough we did. We spied on your family for the longest time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to present itself so that we could get the other twin, Melanie. That opportunity showed up when you three went on a picnic when Melanie was four-years-old. You had gone to get a drink, and Michael Vaughn had gone to get the drinks he left in the car. You figured that Melanie would be safe if you had your backs turned on her for one moment, but you couldn't have been more wrong.  
  
"We took her right under your noses, and the beauty of it was that both you and Vaughn blamed each other. We just destroyed your relationship in the process. But as time went on, we found it would be easier if Melanie believed herself to be someone else, so we tried to brainwash her. Unsuccessfully as it turns out. Over the course of time, we tried to conduct simple experiments on her. They were so minute that she didn't even realize it, but we soon learned that it would be a complete failure to try the experiment on just one twin. They needed each other.  
  
"So Cole, Lauren, and myself along with Melanie, traveled to Munich so that the twins could meet each other and get to know one another. We wanted them to trust each other, so in order to do that we reasoned that the logical thing to do would let them go on a mission together. And, not only did it work; it brought them closer with you and Vaughn. They almost got away too, but thankfully we convinced Molly that if we ever got separated, she was to pretend to be a Covenant agent so that the 'project' would be complete. Little did any of us know, that this 'project' would change the world." Sark explained.  
  
"I don't believe you. What you're saying is the most evil and corrupt..." she didn't have time to finish. Her comm went off.  
  
"Syd...out...trouble..." the voice on the other side said. It sounded a lot like Vaughn. Unfortunately the comm was going haywire, and Sydney couldn't understand what was going on except for that there was trouble. Usually with Vaughn, whenever he mentioned trouble, the best thing he wanted Sydney to do was to get out of it.  
  
Sydney took out her tranq gun and shot Sark before anyone knew what was happening. Sydney instantly went for Melanie so she could get her out of whatever she was hooked onto, but was ambushed by Molly.  
  
"Mommy, I'm so sorry! I'm sorry for making you think I had betrayed you, and Daddy, and Melanie, and the CIA! I had to! Sark promised..." she couldn't finish, and Sydney didn't expect her to.  
  
"It's ok sweetie. Nothing is going to happen to you anymore. The bad men are gone." Sydney assured her daughter that she had thought dead for so long.  
  
"Mommy, I can get her out. I watched Sark put her in it." Molly offered and pushed in a code of letters and numbers, and soon the helmet was off and Melanie saw what was going on around her for the first time in god knew how long. When she saw Sydney she ran towards her and embraced her in the biggest hug she could.  
  
"Mommy, please don't leave me again! I was so scared!" Melanie cried into Sydney's stomach since she was too small to reach her shoulder.  
  
"Don't worry. Nothing's going to happen to you Melly Belly." Sydney said, crying as well.  
  
"I saw him Mommy! I saw Rambaldi!" Melanie said as she wiped the tears from her eyes.  
  
Sydney shook her head. You don't have to worry about Rambaldi anymore. I am so sick of hearing that man's name! It doesn't matter. Right now we need to leave." Sydney told her and together, they went upstairs to the first floor, but what they found was the most gruesome thing ever.  
  
The CIA team was laying together in a mass of blood, dead as ever. Sydney shielded Melanie and Molly's eyes and walked around them slowly, looking for Vaughn, Weiss, or Jack in the pile. When she didn't see them, she became hopeful that they had made it alive.  
  
"Good job Agent Bristow. We were about ready to search the entire building looking for these two, but I see you have saved us the trouble. You can hand them to me now." a deep voice said behind her.  
  
Sydney turned around and saw a huge, heavyset man with, what he had left of it, gray hair. He looked like he should've been laying in front of a TV somewhere watching football instead of going on missions looking for innocent children.  
  
Somehow the twins knew him because they cowered by her, whimpering pathetically. "Mommy don't give us to him! He's a bad man!" Melanie whispered to her, but it was loud enough that the man heard her.  
  
"I wouldn't expect anything more or less from you Anna." the man said, laughing evilly.  
  
"My name is Melanie, you big jerk!" Melanie said, now more angry than afraid.  
  
"Oh I'm sorry. Melanie!" the man said with mock fear. Sydney lifted her arm that still clutched the .45 mm gun and shot him in the heart. He looked at his wound, as if surprised that she would actually shoot him.  
  
"You'll be sorry Agent Bristow. You'll see why soon enough." The man said, but then fell to the ground, dead as well.  
  
"Who was that man?" Sydney asked as they made their way quickly towards the door.  
  
"Ben Schol, although he's known as Snake. He's been terrorizing me ever since I was first kidnapped." Melanie explained.  
  
They stepped outside and what they saw made their hearts stop. A team of about fifteen agents, who probably worked for the Covenant, or were another elite group of assassins, were holding Vaughn hostage, and every agent had their guns pointed to Vaughn. To Sydney's horror, they were laser guns.  
  
"Snake has ordered us to kill this man if you killed him. He said if he wasn't out in twenty minutes to kill him anyway. It's been seventeen." One of the agents told her with a snide sneer on his face.  
  
"Let him go. It's not him you want. It's me." Sydney said and let go of her beloved daughters and stepped forward.  
  
The agent sneered wider. "I doubt that you want us to sacrifice you for this man in front of your little girls. But, we have a deal to make with you. Give yourself to us, and we'll release this man but we'll be taking your daughters with you. But if the man stays with us, you are free to return to your home with the twins. It is your choice. But, you only have thirty seconds to decide." The agent said.  
  
Sydney glanced at Vaughn, whose expression said enough. 'Take the girls and leave me be, I'll be fine.' The twins were crying even harder now. She hesitated too long though, for the agent motioned to one other agent and before they knew it, had shot Vaughn in the stomach.  
  
"Too late. Now we're going to kill you all!" the agent said, basically jumping up and down with delight.  
  
"Not really." A voice said behind Sydney and the twins. Sydney sighed with relief. Jack was standing behind her, holding two guns to the crowd, but they weren't ordinary guns. These could take out three people with one bullet.  
  
He started firing at random, killing everyone except Sydney, Melanie, Molly, and maybe Vaughn, but Sydney couldn't tell if he was already dead, which made it even worse than if she knew he was for sure dead.  
  
"Sydney, take the twins and run!" Jack ordered his daughter. He didn't need to tell her twice.  
  
"Come on!" Sydney said and grabbed Melanie and Molly's hands and took off running in a random direction. She only stopped when it started to rain fiercely. They ducked into an alley with what looked like a roof and huddled next to one another. Molly grabbed a blanket that was stuffed away in an old TV box. Sydney wrapped it around the three of them and got as close in as they could.  
  
"Mommy, is Daddy dead?" Melanie asked through tears.  
  
"I don't know honey. I jus don't know." Sydney replied, crying herself. The twins put their heads on either one of Sydney's shoulders at the same time and tried to cry themselves to sleep.  
  
"I'm scared." Molly told her, although it was hard to understand her through her muffled sobbing.  
  
"So am I. But we'll be ok. We will be ok." Sydney said, wanting to reassure her daughters, but failing to reassure herself.  
  
A/N: Did you like it? Remember at least four reviews before I post the sequel!! Tell me what you think!! Is it sequel worthy? 


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